The Ability to Love
by Sapphirina
Summary: Can a Nobody fall in love although it has no heart? Axel wants to know because he thinks he found someone special. A special someone who could solve the Organization’s problems. AxelxOC
1. Chapter 1: The Possible Tool

**A/N: Hello. I haven't been on of awhile because there wasn't anything to write until I started to play Kingdom Hearts this week and realized how awesome (can't find a better word) Axel is and everything. So yeah, here's a fanfic with him in it. This is slight AU. It has the Organization in it but doesn't follow the plot/storyline of Kingdom Hearts. Oh yeah, here's the disclaimer. I'm only putting this once because chances are I will forget and I hate repeating myself.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Kingdom Hearts series or its characters or anything else associated with it. That's why I posted this up.**

**CHAPTER 1**

**:The Possible Tool:**

Two men walked through the dark woods. It wasn't a chilly night although the season, autumn, called for it. The trees were bare so the moon was visible between their branches. So were the stars that shown brightly overhead. However, this scene wouldn't last long. Sunrise was due in a couple of hours and the night sky would be replaced by day's.

The men's black cloaks flowed out from behind them as they began to move faster. Since their hoods were off, their faces were visible.

One of the men had fiery red, spiked hair that reached his shoulders and vivid emerald eyes that were simply amazing. He had one upside down purple triangle underneath each eye. He glanced at his 'friend'. "So, why am I coming with you, Demyx?"

The other guy turned and faced him. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. All his hair was slicked back in a Mohawk except for those few, small locks of hair that came down across his forehead. Demyx sighed. "Come on, Axel. How many times do I need to say it? They keep sending the wrong guy for these missions! Now they want me to spy on some chick!"

Axel raised his eyebrows. "What chick?"

He thought about his answer as if trying to get the story together. Then after a moment or two, he began talking. "Okay. Um, there is this girl who happens to be the apprentice to this old guy called Dimitri who just happens to be affiliated with Ansem. According to the Superior, this girl could be . . . useful to us."

Axel smirked. "In what way?"

Demyx shrugged. "I dunno but we're about to find out once we find her."

* * *

The girl they were talking about stood in the same woods, watching the Nobody she would fight. Her hair was an extremely dark shade of brown and her eyes were slate. She wore large, gray cargo pants and brown boots that would have taken anyone forever to lace up. She wore a white tank top that exposed her belly a bit and a black choker necklace. The girl, without realizing it, fidgeted with her bracelet as she tried to catch her breath.

Chasing a Nobody was hard work because of the strange way they move. However, she had managed to keep up and had chased the Nobody into a clearing. Or maybe she hadn't been the tactical one. Perhaps it had led her to the clearing to fight because it finally faced her to battle. Either way, she didn't care. She needed to fight it. Her slate eyes focused on the Nobody as it did its unpredictable, bizarre dance.

The girl held out her hand in front and a weapon appeared in her hand. It was a midnight blue staff with a curved blade at each end. The part where her hand clutched onto was covered in gold. She twirled the staff in her hand before setting one of the blades into the ground.

"Do you . . . want to be whole again?" She calmly asked. The Nobody didn't say anything but she felt its aura pulsating and could already tell she had its other half, its heartless, with her. Swiftly, she pulled out the staff and pointed a blade at it. "Then I must attack you." The Nobody charged at her, gliding so close to the ground before popping back up behind her. She turned around just to see it attack and moved out of the way.

This time, she ran toward it and gave it a slash against its torso. Then she delivered a kick with her brown lace-up boot. The Nobody fell down and she jumped up into the air. Just like everything else that goes up must come down, so did she, her blade pointing at the Nobody's torso. Before its body could be pierced, it glided out of the way. The blade got stuck in the ground. She attempted to pull it out but it didn't budge. Meanwhile the Nobody was coming toward her.

Her hand released the gold handle and her foot kicked it. Directly in the middle of the gold handle, the staff broke into two pieces. She grabbed the top part and drove the blade into the Nobody's chest.

The girl back-flipped away from the creature and reached into her cargo pants. Suddenly, she whipped out a small, glass-like, blue cube. Inside of it was a swirling black mist. She held it out, closed her eyes and said, "**Release**." A heartless spilled out and laid on the ground before her. Then the girl ran over to the Nobody and pulled out her weapon. Without thinking about possible repercussions, she cast it to the side.

"Now," she said, as she outstretched both arms away from her body, her hands open. A small circle spread out from underneath her feet. It grew until it reached its limit. It was probably five feet in diameter with her in the center of it. The girl checked to make sure that both creatures were at least touching the circle. After seeing that they both were, she clasped her hands together and cried out, "**Unite**!"

There was a bright light as the two entities swirled together and formed a blob. That blob, after ten seconds, finally began to take shape. A head was easy to perceive first because two eyes appeared. Then arms and legs began to appear, first as stubs. Eventually they became longer and grew toes or fingers.

_Don't lose concentration now, _she thought to herself. _This is a one-shot process. I can't mess this up._

After sometime, the circle disappeared and so did the glowing light. Now a human lied on the ground before her, soul, heart, and all. It was a man dressed in a tattered suit. He had a grizzled beard and red eyes probably from stress or fatigue. After a moment, he got up and stood on his own two feet. He looked at his hands before staring at the girl.

"You can go now," she said quietly.

The man slowly nodded and took off in the direction of the city. She closed her eyes and sighed. She felt entirely drained of all her energy and she knew it would come back in two days but that was too long of a wait. She plopped down on the ground, sat against a tree, and closed her eyes. The wind blew. It was then that she wished she had worn a sweatshirt other than her white tank top. Also, she wished she was in her room because there she would be under some protection and could regain her strength. And there, she could slip into sleep more comfortably than she was on the ground.

A tree branch snapped and her dark eyes opened. She saw two guys in black cloaks in front of her and abruptly sat up. "Who—?"

The one with red hair clapped slowly and teasingly. "Good job," he said, his voice thick with sarcasm. "I can see why Xemnas is _so_ interested in you."

"Who are you?" She asked.

The guy laughed. The blond took over for the redhead. "We're part of this group called Organization XIII. I'm Number Nine but you can call me Demyx. This guy is Number Eight, also known as Axel. We came to . . ."

He held up one finger, his mouth partially open before searching his robe for something. "Where did I put it . . . Oh, here we go!" He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and unfolded it. Then he read it out loud. "Find target and study its abilities . . . I did that. This was an easy mission." Demyx looked back at the girl. "Don't mind Axel. You're just what Xemnas wanted. We'll pick you up in the afternoon."

The one called Axel smirked. He pointed to his head and arched an eyebrow. "Got it memorized? 'Cause I'm going now." A black portal opened up behind him and he stepped through.

Demyx put one leg in and stopped there. He looked back at her. "Bye. Oh wait, what's your name?"

"None of your business."

The blonde grinned. "Oh, feisty." She thought Axel was laughing on the other side of the portal, wherever it led to. But she knew Demyx was laughing for sure. He was, afterall, right in front of her. The guy waved goodbye before he completely went into the portal. Shortly afterward, it closed.

The girl forced herself onto her feet and rested against the tree for support. _Who were they?_

* * *

Daybreak was several hours ago and it wasn't so long ago that she woke up. That was why she had jumped into the water that had been gathered by the waterfall. It was just to wake her up. It had been cold at first but her body had adjusted. She was now washing her long, dark hair. Master Dimitre had said she should cut it because long hair gets in the way during a fight. However, she chose not to pay attention to his advice.

The hours before sunrise was still on her mind. Organization XIII seemed to be something important to worry about. They had said they would come and get her. To go where? She didn't know. If they did come, she would be nearly defenseless against them. Her strength hadn't came back yet. It was amazing she could walk this morning to the waterfall and not collapse.

The girl swam a little to test her limits before looking next to the rock where her things were. Occasionally, she would look up at where she had put her clothes and other belongings. Just to make sure that everything was there and intact. She didn't know when those Organization people would show up and didn't want them searching through her stuff. The girl looked up again and didn't see anyone around. It was then that she chose to stand up out of the water as she made her way over to her clothes. Then she heard someone whistle.

"This is one thing I got to memorize. It's not often I see a sight like this."

She recognized that voice. It belonged to that redhead from last night (or this morning, whichever way you look at it), the one who was part of the Organization. As if to confirm her suspicions, Axel jumped down out of the tree. He smirked at her as his emerald eyes examined the shocked girl. "You know, I wasn't expecting to catch you like this . . . with nothing on."

Immediately, she went back into the water, already feeling her face burn red with embarrassment. She wondered if he had seen everything there was to be seen. It seemed she was out of the water long enough for him to do so.

Her mind went off that topic when she saw him walking over to her clothes. He picked them up before he sat on a rock. Then Axel began to rummage through them as if he was looking for something. He glanced at her, the smirk still on his face. "Don't worry. It's only me. What can I do to you?" There was that sarcasm again. Axel picked up her bra before throwing it carelessly aside. "If you're taking a bath now, then you obviously didn't memorize what we told you."

She didn't say anything but studied his movements. When she saw Axel with the small blue cube in his hands, she started. "Put that down."

Axel looked at her as if he had no interest in what she was saying. "This thing? Is it really that special to you?"

"I said put it down."

Axel laughed, his eyes full of mockery. "You want it? Then come and get it yourself, if you want it so badly." _I wonder what she uses it for anyway._

**A/N: Don't worry I didn't forget my character's name. Usually, I would put it in the first chapter. So I'll put it in the next one for sure. Anywayz, please leave a review and tell me what you think about the story this far. I would appreciate it. Till later.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Blue Cube

**CHAPTER 2**

**:The Blue Cube:**

The girl stared at him, horrified by that order. "You can't be serious." Did that man really expected her to come out of the water to retrieve her cube? Maybe. He looked like he meant it especially with that amused look in his eyes.

Axel smirked. "You want it, don't you? Then come and get it." He tossed it up into air and caught it. He threw it up a second time and nearly dropped it. "Don't worry. I'm the only person around. So don't fret about getting dressed in front of me." As if testing her, he threw it up higher this time and missed the cube. It was about to hit the ground and she gasped, almost jumping out of the water to try and get it. However, Axel had managed to catch it inches away from the ground. "Whoops. Almost broke." He stared at her, waiting to see what she would do.

"You're going to break it," she finally said as he threw it up a fourth time.

"What's your name?" Axel asked, ignoring her demand. She was about to say something but he cut her off. "I might stop throwing this thing if you tell me.

"You know mine," he added. He threw the cube up again, his emerald eyes never leaving her. Axel could tell how it was driving the poor girl mad.

She stared at him, trying to decide if there was any harm in giving out her name. " . . . It's . . . Alana."

Number Eight grinned sadistically. "That's nice, _Alana_. So, what do you use this cube for?" He threw it up too high for her liking. He attempted to catch it but it fumbled once or twice in his hands. Finally he had a hold on it.

Alana watched as the cube went up and down, getting tossed and getting caught. It was driving her insane. She began to wonder if he was doing this on purpose. Did he know how much it was ticking her off? "I use it for collecting Heartless." Her slate eyes followed the cube.

"Why do you collect Heartless?" Axel stopped tossing it and held it in his hand. "Is it for whatever you did last night?"

". . . Sometimes," she answered.

"You made a human out of a Heartless and a Nobody. You gave it a heart and soul and body. That's why the Organization wants you. You can give us hearts. And that's why you have to come with me."

She narrowed her eyes and turned her back on him. "I'm not going anywhere with someone I don't know."

Axel folded his arms after placing the blue cube into his cloak's pocket. Then he got off the rock and approached the water's edge. "You forgot my name already? It's Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"

Alana suspiciously gazed at him over her shoulder. "Where did you put it?" Her mind had retreated back to the blue cube. She just noticed that it wasn't in sight.

"How does it work?"

" . . . I don't know."

"Your master does?"

"Look just give me back the cube and then maybe I'll tell you."

He raised an eyebrow at her, amusement in his eyes. "I don't think you're in any position to be the one negotiating. You seem weak and vulnerable and so defenseless . . . You can easily be hurt or killed. So why don't you come out? Xemnas is not a patient, forgiving sort of guy. Sooner we go, the less angry he'll be. Got it?"

_He's a perverted idiot. That's exactly what he is. _She didn't bother getting out. She wasn't going to. She preferred her skin pruning than running off to some weird place with a pervert. Who knew what he or that Xemnas person had in mind? Alana didn't. That was why she ignored whatever Axel was ordering her to do.

Axel noticed the girl's arrogance or it could have been her ignorance. Either one was something he didn't like. "You're not making this any easier on yourself." His voice was still full of humor.

Alana didn't say anything and for awhile, neither did Axel. It was quiet enough that she could hear the sounds coming from behind her. It reminded her of when someone was unzipping something. She turned around just in time to see Axel removing his black tank top. His cloak was already on the grass.

"I guess I'll have to come in and get you. But wait here for one sec," he suddenly added and opened a black hole. "I'll be right back." He went through and it closed behind him.

She stayed in the water for a second before suddenly trying to bolt out. Her movements were slow in the water. It was like trying to run waist high in the ocean. You were moving but it felt like you weren't getting anywhere.

Alana was just about to get out, too, when a black hole opened up in front of her. Axel came jumping out, tackling her into the water. There was some confusion and some trashing but eventually she got her head to the surface. Soon after, Axel did also and came out right in front of her. Axel being that close to her gave Alana a chance to see how tall he really was. He must have been six inches taller than she was. She was about to back away, feeling inferior to him when Axel pulled her back into an embrace.

Her face turned red again. Only this time it was because her chest was getting pushed up against his muscular one. It was too close for comfort, way too close for her. And she tried to push him away just to get some breathing and lots of space. However he was stronger and his 'hug' seemed to be getting tighter.

Axel grinned at the girl's reaction. "I guess you've never been this close to a guy before, huh? Don't worry. I'm the gentle type." He began to remove her hair away from the back of her neck. Soon it was exposed.

While he was doing that, she had taken a break from her struggling and snorted. He had to be kidding about being gentle. He had tackled her, forced her into this horrible position, and caused dirty thoughts to run loose in her mind. To voice how much she didn't believe him, she was going to tell Axel what she thought. Unfortunately she didn't have a chance. Axel's hand came crashing down on the back of her neck. Her vision went dark and then Alana fainted.

* * *

When Alana woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. It was dimly lit and the only things inside was a dresser, a chair, and the bed she was on. Suddenly she sucked her teeth and thrashed the pillow. "That damn bastard," she muttered.

Axel had to be the one who dressed her while she was unconscious. All her original clothes were on a chair in a corner of the room. She was wearing a gray sweatshirt and black male shorts that was cut right below her knees. She wondered if he had . . . no, she couldn't let herself finish that thought. She didn't want to know what he had done with her while she was knocked out.

Alana swung her legs over the side of the bed as she sat up. She begun to wonder where Axel had gone to and whether he'd be back. She figured she could live without anymore of his intrusions. They were a pain to begin with. They invaded her privacy and most of all, they made her feel he knew where she was at all times. It seemed impossible, but then again, he seemed to know where to find her.

Almost on cue, Axel opened the door and walked in. He smirked. "You're awake now. You slept well?" He had his cloak on again so she wasn't forced to stare at his abs or muscles. Just thinking about that brought back this morning's scene to her mind. The one where they had been in the water together . . . and then he had knocked her unconscious.

Alana didn't say anything. Her slate eyes just focused on him, studying his cloak. Her mind was on the blue cube and she figured it might be on him. After all, he did steal it from her. Because of that, her voice came out sharp. "You mean after you knocked me unconscious, right?"

He laughed. "You're so feisty. This only spices up our relationship, you know." He sounded so happy when he said that.

Alana did not feel the same way. "What relationship?"

"The captor and the captive, the hunter and the hunted, the cat and the mouse . . . the torturer and the tortured." Out of everything he said, Axel seemed to like the last bit a lot. It looked as if he was trying to figure out ways to torture her for his green eyes lit up.

Alana just stared at him before getting off the bed and heading toward the door. "I need to get out of here," she said to him.

Before she could reached the doorknob, Axel threw an arm around her waist and brought her in front of him. "Sorry, but you can't leave."

Alana narrowed her eyes at him. "You're really lucky, you know that? You caught me at the perfect time to kidnap me. Just wait until after tomorrow. Then I'll beat the crap out of you, you pervert."

"Ouch," he said sarcastically. "That really hurts my feelings. I can't believe you, out of all people, said that to me. How about . . . you shut up for a while and don't say anything? That could be a huge step in our relationship."

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"I don't know. Are you pissed off now?"

Alana stared at him before attempting to kick his side. She had a feeling it might not even hurt. However she felt he deserved it. As if it was nothing, he caught her leg (she also had a feeling that would happen), and threw her onto the bed. Before she could get up, Axel was sitting on top of the girl, pinning her legs. "Get off me," she muttered. She felt like screaming that statement but it wasn't in her nature to do so. Instead, it came out in an agitated voice.

Axel smirked as his eyes met hers. "I think you're liking this more than you're willing to admit."

Alana narrowed her eyes at him, trying to come off as intimidating. "Get off me right now, you fuckin' sick bast---"

Before she could finish her statement, Axel came down and brushed her lips purposely. She stopped speaking instantly and stared at him in shock. This made him grin. "If you don't shut up, you might provoke me," he whispered in her ear teasingly.

Abruptly, The door was slammed open. Axel pulled away from her face to see who it was. Alana peered around his body.

Someone she had never seen before was standing in the doorframe, looking at the two of them. He was wearing the usual black cloak like everyone else. He had pink hair and deep blue eyes. Unlike Axel, he looked more serious and menacing . . . he looked angrier as well. Was it----Alana sniffed the air. Yep, the scent of flowers. However, it didn't go with the guy's mood and tone. "Axel, what are you doing? You were supposed to bring her to Xemnas ten minutes ago!"

The amusement was wiped off Axel's face as he got off Alana. He looked pissed off as he did so, glaring at the flower guy. Alana could care less if they hated one another. At least she had her legs back. She sat up and stared at the two Organization members.

"I was going to bring her now," Axel icily said.

The flower guy took a glance at Alana. "Didn't look like it," he sneered.

Axel shrugged and walked back to Alana. Without warning, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her off the bed. She stumbled a bit. Before he could steady her himself, the girl regained her balance. Axel led her past the guy. "See? I'm taking her now." He opened the door and pulled her into the hallway.

Alana looked back at the door. "Who was that guy?"

" . . . Marluxia."

"He's um, straight?" She asked, remembering the flowery smell.

"Why the hell should I know? I never asked him. Why the hell should it matter to you anyway? You only came here for only one reason: to help Xemnas find a way to make us complete."

"Complete?"

"With a heart."

Alana's eyebrows furrowed as it finally made sense to her. "You're Nobodies?"

Axel looked back at her and smirked. "We are." He stopped in front of this large door and pushed it open. The room was shrouded in darkness. Suddenly, Axel threw her inside. Alana was about to run out when the door closed right in her face.

A light beamed down on her and she looked around. Alana still couldn't see anything until a second light beamed down on a guy behind a desk, wearing the same black coat as Axel and Marluxia. He had long silver hair. Most of it was slicked away from his face; a few stubborn locks didn't. His skin was dark and his eyes were gold. He stared at her, a half-smile on his face. "Hello, Alana."

She didn't know whether she should say hi. So, she continued to look at him.

The guy didn't mind. Or maybe he didn't notice. "I'm Number One of Organization XIII, Xemnas. Do you know why you're here?"

"I'm suppose to be of some use to you," Alana answered, remembering what Demyx had said.

Xemnas nodded and stood up. He walked away from the desk and approached her. "I want to know . . . how _this_," he took out the blue cube from his cloak pocket, "works."

Alana shrugged. "I really don't know."

His eyes slightly narrowed at her as he began circling Alana. "Really? Then maybe you can tell me how you did you make a human out of a Nobody and a Heartless."

"I don't understand how that works either."

He stopped in front of the girl. Xemnas was definitely taller than Axel, probably taller than Marluxia as well. Alana felt so small again, so intimidated that she back away a bit. Height was always one way to intimidate someone. Another way was certain glares like the one he was giving her now.

Xemnas didn't move. Instead he said, "Tell me about Dimitri."

"I . . . I don't know him." Alana knew the guy had caught the hesitation in her voice. Everything had been a complete lie so far but she was getting worn down. As if it was getting riskier to lie.

Xemnas snapped his fingers. The room became lit. She never knew how big a room it was until then. But she had so little room to move. Four people was to her right: a girl with blonde hair, a guy with gray and black hair in a ponytail, another guy with brown spiked-up hair, and a man with platinum blonde hair. To her left was Axel, Demyx, Marluxia and a blonde kid probably two years younger than she was. Behind her stood a guy with long grayish-blue hair, another guy with gray hair, a man with jet black hair with sideburns and a dirty blonde with long hair. They were all dressed in the same attire; they all had weapons to use.

Xemnas was the only one blocking the space in front of her. But he was enough. "I suggest that you change your answers or you are no further use to me."

Alana looked around her again to see if she could escape. No such luck especially in her current condition. She knew she had no other choice but to speak.

"The blue cube holds mostly Heartless with a few Nobodies. Right now it has room for about two more creatures.

"As you know, Heartless are dark hearts that abandon a person and manifest. The soul and body are left behind. They disappear from the realm of light and are reborn into a different realm as a Nobody. The spell I use just reverses the whole entire process. First by purifying the heart. Followed by returning the Nobody into flesh and soul again. Just combine the two and a human appears.

"There are certain rules and limits to the spell. The Nobody and the Heartless have to originate from the person. It's impossible to tell by looking at them. Unless you are born with the gift like me. I can see specific auras since everyone's aura is different. It's kind of like fingerprints and DNA.

"That spell takes a serious toll on me so I can only use it once a day."

Xemnas waited for her to continue to talk. However, he realized that was all she was going to say. He prompted her with a question. "Where is your master?" She didn't answer him and kept her silence. He thought about the situation for a bit before looking at the girl. Already, maddening ideas were forming in his mind.

Feeling satisfied, Xemnas smirked and walked off. "You don't need to tell us where he is. You'll just be his replacement. Vexen," he added, looking at the dirty blonde, "you may start experimenting on her tomorrow."

Alana just stood there. What did he mean by experimenting? Was that guy barbaric enough to issue such a cruel order? Wait. She forgot. Xemnas, Number One, was a Nobody.

**A/N: And that's Chapter 2. Sorry it took a while to update but school keeps me busy. I hope that explanation about what happened last chapter made some sense. Anyway, thanks to BlueBunny2006 and Kuragari for reviewing. Till later.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Morning of the Experiment

**A/N: Oh man, it's been a long time. Why the long break? Partially because I had writer's block for this story and partially because I was working on a story on FictionPress. Yeah, I know. Not good. Anyway, after wondering where to take it from Chapter 2, it suddenly hit me after replaying KH2. This chapter may not be good but I hope it's decent. Also, does anyone else find Proud Mode hard? I know it's suppose to be hard but I can't beat Xaldin yet and I'm on level 38!**

**CHAPTER 3**

**:The Morning of the Experiment: **

Alana was back in the room, lying down on the bed again. She was lost in her thoughts and her confusion. What could they be planning to do to her for the experiment? Make her run laps? Make incisions in her body? Study her in her natural habitat? They could probably torture her to see how much she could take.

Alana rolled over and faced the wall. She needed to survive two more days before she could regain her strength back and fight her way out. During that time, she needed to formulate a plan of some sort. One that was foolproof. But what could work?

In the middle of her thinking process, the door opened and Alana rolled over to see who it was. Axel stood in the doorway, holding a tray of food. He walked in and closed the door with his foot. "I brought you something to eat."

She watched as he placed the tray on the bed and sat at the edge. Alana studied him. He didn't move much as he stared at the clean floor. For once, he looked cute and attractive. His emerald eyes already had her captivated but he had no idea. He didn't know how they could mesmerize her yet.

Finally, Axel glanced at her and saw that the food had not been touched. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Alana broke out of her trance and finally glanced at the food."I'm not really hungry."

"I'm not giving you a choice."

Alana looked at the food. It was spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread on the side. There was also a glass of chocolate milk on the tray. Her slate eyes passed over everything of the tray, trying to find the slightest thing wrong with it.

Axel could see how skeptical she was about the food. So he picked up the fork, took a meatball and ate it. He could see the stunned expression on her face. Axel swallowed. "See? There's nothing wrong with it."

Her eyes glanced at the fork. "I can't use that fork."

"Why not?"

"You just used it."

"So?"

"It's just disgusting to share a fork."

Axel laughed and stabbed another meatball. He held it out in front of her face. "Say 'ah'."

"I told you I'm not using that fork."

"And I'm telling you that I don't care. Now eat."

"I'm not going to eat it," she muttered.

He shook his head and placed the fork back into the plate. Then he pushed the tray so nothing could be between them. Swiftly, he tackled her on the bed and sat on top of her legs. Axel reached for the fork again with the meatball still on it and shoved it in front of her face. "Say 'ah'."

Alana looked down at the meatball and then back at Axel. "I'm allergic to it."

Axel blinked in disbelief before he removed the meatball from the fork and gathered some spaghetti. "How about this?"

" . . . I'm allergic to that as well." Her slate eyes focused on the spaghetti as she wondered if it was poisoned or not. She was more concerned with what was in it.

Suddenly a portal opened up and Demyx came walking out. He looked at Axel. "So did she eat it yet?"

Axel looked back at the blonde, still sitting on top of Alana's legs. "Nope. She's not listening to me. Why don't you try?"

Demyx put his hands up in a no-offense way. "I'm the wrong guy for that job. She definitely wouldn't listen to me. How about . . ." He tapped his foot, his hand on his chin while he thought. At one point during his thinking process, he shook his head and said to himself, "Definitely not her." Alana wondered who he was talking about but didn't bother asking. She was ready for the next person they would bring in.

Finally, Demyx snapped his fingers. "I got it. How about Roxas?"

Axel shook his head. "He's too nice. He'd rather let her die of starvation instead of forcing her to eat."

Demyx sighed. "You're not making this easy. We could call in Saix."

Axel threw the spaghetti-covered fork onto the plate and got off the girl. His green eyes gave her a contemplating stare. Saix could instill fear into her and he might be able to get her to eat. However, Axel wasn't on speaking terms with the guy. He hated him. But what other choice was there? He wasn't going to ask Marluxia and chances were that Larxene would just blow the whole thing out of proportion. "Go ahead. Get him."

"I'm glad my opinion matters to someone," Demyx said as he went through the portal. Ten seconds later, Demyx walked out of the portal, this time with a guy behind him.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you were getting Saix."

"Well, when I went to go find him, I didn't see him but Xaldin was there. So I brought him with me instead."

Axel sighed, scratching the back of his head. "At least he's better than Saix."

Alana studied the new guy. He had been the one with the six lances. His hair was black and was done in cornroes. They were divided in half–the top part was brought up into a ponytail and the rest was loose. Along with those cornroes, he had sideburns and blue eyes.

Xaldin folded his arms. "What is it?"

"Okay," Demyx said, taking out a notebook. He began to flip through it. "Just hold on. I took some notes on this. Ah, here it is. It basically says that . . . 'Alana is resisting all efforts to consume the meal prepared for her.' Right. That's why I brought you here."

"I see." He walked over to Alana, his blue eyes on her. "Did you try force?"

"Um," Demyx started, "We haven't thought about it yet."

"You're getting as soft as Roxas."

Alana stared as the three cloaked men. She was a bit worried about the new one. She had never talked to him before and didn't know what he was capable of. She began thinking about complying with them. Her slate eyes stared at the plate of food.

Axel walked over to her. "You know, I would really hate using Xaldin as a second option. So I'll give you one more chance to feed yourself. What do you say?"

Alana glared at Axel before staring at the fork. The same fork he had used and his spit was probably still on. She reached for it reluctantly, the spaghetti still on it. Then she shoved it into her mouth. Argh, she had let it get too cold.

"Hey, what do you know," Demyx said, "She ate it."

"Good girl," Axel congratulated, patting Alana on the back. "I feel like we've accomplished something today."

"This was a waste of my time." Xaldin opened a portal and left the room.

Demyx walked toward the hole of darkness. "Bye Alana."

Soon, it was only Axel and Alana left in the room. The portal was still opened, waiting for the third person. However, Axel wasn't ready to leave yet. He still had something to say to the girl.

Alana picked up a cold meatball with the fork and ate it solemnly. "Aren't you going, too?" She asked after she had swallowed.

Axel shook his head. "I still have to tell you something."

Alana put the fork down. "What is it?"

"Things changed. It turns out the day after tomorrow will be when you'll meet with Vexen. I'll give you some advice: do everything that you're told to do. That way, the experiment won't be as intense. Got it memorized?"

Alana sighed. "Yeah. I'll remember that."

* * *

Her eyes opened in the dark. It was the morning of the experiment. Hopefully, no one was up yet. Alana held her hand out in front and her midnight blue staff appeared in it. She grinned. Her abilities were now at one hundred percent and it couldn't be any better than that.

She slowly got up from her bed and opened the door. Then Alana cautiously peered into the hallway. She didn't see anyone.

Happy that there was no one to stop her, she left the room and started down the hallway as quietly as she could. Alana had no idea where she was or how to get out but she made up her mind. She would just have to find one. She turned the corner and nearly bumped into Axel. Alana stopped moving for a second before she dashed down the hallway.

"Hey," she heard Axel yelled from behind her, "Come back here!"

So much for remaining unseen.

Alana turned into another corridor. She halted when she saw Demyx at the end of the hallway, holding his sitar.

Demyx sighed. "Oh, why are you running away? Look what you've gotten us into . . ." He strummed the guitar and his expression changed into a more serious one. "Dance water, dance!" Ten water creatures appeared around him.

_Can I handle them? _She asked herself. Her grip tightened on the staff. _Of course I can. _She ran down the hallway and attacked the nearest one. She destroyed it with so much ease.

Demyx pointed the sitar in her direction and strummed it again. This time orbs of water blasted in her direction.

They hit her and she felt more pain than she usually would have. She flew back onto the floor. Suddenly she was helped up. Alana saw that it was Axel.

"You just had to try escaping, didn't you?"

Alana gritted her teeth and kicked him in the stomach with her right leg.

Axel laughed and stuck his arms away from his body. "That didn't even hurt!" His weapons appeared, a chakram in each hand. Fire encircled them both and he began swinging them before attacking her.

Alana flew back onto the floor again. _What's wrong with me now? I should be fine. My strength should be back._

"You know, I don't see why you're fighting. Surely you must have realized that you're not feeling at one hundred percent. Why don't you stop this little game of yours and we'll let you off the hook?"

Alana forced her aching body to sit up and glared at Axel. She had noticed that Demyx had managed to move in closer as well. Now she heard footsteps coming from down the hallway.

She saw it was Marluxia and someone that she didn't know. The new person had long blue hair and golden eyes. The top of his hair came up in tufts. He had an X-shaped scar, the center of it was between his eyes.

Vines sprouted from the ceiling and came down. They wrapped around her arms and pulled her up into standing position. More came from the ground and wrapped around her legs. Soon she couldn't move.

"Idiot,"Axel muttered, his emerald eyes on her. That one word was filled with some much anger and resentment that it made Alana feel bad.

Demyx looked at the restrained Alana and then at the blue-haired man walking toward them. He walked up to him, hoping that he could calm him down a bit. "Hi, Saix, how have you been? It's been . . ." Saix walked passed him and Demyx sighed. "I guess I'll shut up now."

Saix walked up to Alana. He noticed that she had a defiant look in her eyes, despite that she was beaten, despite that she was caught. For some reason, that angered him. "Xaldin mentioned her to me," he explained to the others. His claymore appeared in his hand. "Apparently she has forgotten her place and needs to be reminded."

**A/N: And that's it. I don't know when the next update will be but hopefully soon. I know I'm paying more attention to Demyx and Axel than others members but the other characters are more difficult to characterize properly. Till later.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Experiment

**A/N: I hope the wait wasn't long. I actually came up with an idea for this chapter. Here it is.**

**CHAPTER 4**

**:The Experiment:**

Alana was sitting on the bed in the darkness. Saix, he was different from the others. She could easily describe Axel in one word: perverted. Demyx was just whiny. However there was two necessary words to describe Saix: unforgiving and powerful.

Her shirt was too wet with blood and it felt cold against her skin. She took it off, not really caring that she had no bra on. She had a feeling that her back was covered in blood. She could still feel the red substance running over her shoulder blades and down. Her chest had three cuts but they were minimal compared to that long gash on her back. She could have gotten worse if Marluxia and Axel hadn't tried restraining Saix.

In the beginning, Saix had told Alana things that had upset her. He said that she was worthless. That her life meant nothing. That she was to only serve Organization XIII's purpose. That if she refused, they would properly dispose of her. That they would find her master and kill him. That they would choose when she would leave. All these things made her furious and that was why she had to yell back at Saix. Now when she thought about it, it had been a foolish move.

* * *

A blonde boy was walking down the hallways to visit their new guest. It was Axel's idea to send him because he was the nice guy, Roxas. He didn't understand why they all called him kind. Maybe it was something he did but he couldn't remember what it could be.

He sighed and took out a roll of bandages from his black coat pocket. Axel had asked him to give them to Alana because she definitely needed them. Roxas had overheard what had happened to her. Marluxia was talking about it to Larxene. He had told Larxene that she had been trying to escape this morning and had been caught. Saix had been the one to deal with their prisoner. Saix had slashed her a few times and would have stopped if she hadn't spoken out. Whatever she had said caused Saix to go berserk on her to the point where he needed to be restrained.

Axel had told Roxas that he would have gone to take care of her himself but she might be homicidal and might try to kill him. Demyx had said something similar as well.

Roxas stopped in front of the door and knocked on it. "Are you alright in there?" There was no answer. He frowned. He hoped that she wasn't dead inside because that would be bad for the Organization. He knocked on the door again. "Can I come in?" Still no answer. So he opened the door.

His blue eyes opened wide and his face turned red.

The lights in the room were off but he could still see her on the bed. She wasn't facing him exactly; he had a side view of her but he wished he could only see her back. She had apparently removed her shirt and that was why he was blushing so badly. Although her back was covered in blood, he could make out the deep gashes in her skin.

She turned toward him. He had only seen her eyes once and that had been during her meeting with Xemnas. However, they were different now. Her slate eyes were empty and lifeless.

Roxas looked away from her and stared at the floor. He hoped that she didn't think he was a pervert. He wouldn't have walked in if he had known.

"Um, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were like this." He started to fidget with the roll of bandages. "Axel told me to bring these to you because you need them. Um, here." He threw them onto the bed away from her. "Lunch will be brought soon. Axel said he'd bring it. Uh, I'll leave now." He closed the door and started walking down the hallway, his face a little red. He promised himself that he would never say to anyone what he saw.

Roxas stopped walking when he saw Axel at the end of the hallway, probably waiting for a report. "I gave her the bandages," Roxas said.

"Did she try to attack you?"

"No. She just looked kind of depressed or something of the sort."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "That's all that happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your face is red."

"Don't worry about it."

"Come on, Roxas. We're buddies, pals. You can tell me what happened between you and her."

"Nothing happened."

"Did you see something that you weren't suppose to see?" Axel asked. He grinned when he saw Roxas' face turned even more red. He wasn't too far away from the truth. "What was it?"

"I'm not saying, Axel."

* * *

Alana sat there in the darkness, bandaging the wounds and cuts on her arms. Her back was still bleeding and she wanted to do that next. However, she knew it wouldn't be an easy task. She heard a dark hole opening behind her but she didn't bother looking. She could care less about who it was.

"Hey, Alana. I brought food." She recognized the voice. It was Axel. "I'm putting the tray on the dresser."

She reluctantly looked back at him. Alana blamed him for getting her caught. Him and Demyx. She thought that she could handle them but her body had felt weak, drained. However, her magic was at one hundred percent. She was sure of that. Then what had happened? Alana looked away from him.

Axel walked over to her and sat behind her. "Your back got messed up pretty badly. You need help taking care of it?" She didn't answer and that made him slightly annoyed. "I don't mind helping you, Alana. I pity you at this point." He removed her dark brown hair to see her back. Judging by the gashes, Saix didn't seem to have held back at all.

Suddenly, Alana asked, "Axel, what was in the food you've been giving me the last couple of days?"

Axel raised an eyebrow. The first thing out of her mouth since he had came into the room had been a question. "I don't know," he answered. "I don't cook the meals here."

"I need to know."

Axel smirked. "Actually, you don't need to know. You just want to."

She looked back at him. "Tell me."

"Let's first take care of those cuts. We wouldn't want you to die so soon. I'm going to get some things to clean all the blood." Axel got off the bed and opened a portal. Then he went through it.

He returned five minutes later, his arms filled with more bandages, ointments, and wet rags. He dropped them on the bed before sitting on it. Then he picked up a wet rag. "It might be a little cold," he said as he started to clean the blood off her back.

"It's fine," she muttered.

Axel picked up another rag; the one he was done using was too bloody to be used any longer. "This accident wouldn't have happened if you hadn't ran away when you bumped into me. I would have just knocked you out. But you had to do things your way, didn't you?" He started to rub her back with some ointment. He heard when she hissed in pain.

"Sorry that it stings," he continued, "but it can't be helped. It wouldn't have been that bad if you hadn't talked when Saix was about to leave you alone. That's the only reason he went berserk on you. Do you mind looking at me for a second?"

Alana stared into his green eyes, not fully seeing the point in it.

Axel studied them before sighing. "You lost that intense fire in your eyes. That was the only thing that I liked about you."

"It's still there," she muttered.

Axel shook his head. "No, it's not. Come on. Be angry. Get mad. You were more interesting when that fire was there." He picked up the bandages and started to unroll them. "Lift up your arms for awhile."

Alana faced forward and raised her arms. She felt his palm against her back, holding the end down as he started to dress her wounds. It was awkward knowing it was a guy doing it. Every once in a while, his hands would brush against her breasts and she would blush. A part of her wanted to slap him but another was saying that he wasn't doing it on purpose; it was not like he was groping her. So she sat there quietly, waiting for him to be done.

"I'm done," he announced after fifteen minutes of tedious work. "I think I did a good job." He got up and brought her lunch to her. "It's technically breakfast but you kinda missed it."

She looked down at the tray in front of her. It was simple, nothing extravagant. It was a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. Since the time he brought it, the cornflakes had to be soggy by now. However, she decided that she wouldn't complain about something that small.

"Hey, Alana," Axel said. She looked up at him, a quizzical expression on her face. He smirked before cupping her chin and kissing her on the lips. Slowly and gently, he pushed her back down on the bed.

Alana's eyes stared at the bowl. At least the milk hadn't spilled but she supposed it was the least of her worries. She wanted Axel to stop kissing her really badly. Only she didn't know how because she was so weak. Suddenly she felt his tongue begging her mouth to open. She parted his lips and his tongue slipped into her mouth. _Bastard, _she thought as her teeth came crashing down on it. Axel yelped and pulled away from her. She propped herself up on her elbows, her eyes on him.

"You crazy bitch," he said, his face wearing an expression of disbelief.

"Don't ever kiss me again."

Axel continued staring at her in disbelief before breaking out into a grin. He got off her and walked toward the wall. A portal suddenly opened up. "I guess you haven't lost your fire after all."

He left, giving Alana time to contemplate whatever that meant.

* * *

A few hours later, Alana was called down to a room. She was taken there by Demyx and Xaldin. The room was completely white and it felt strange to be in. It was completely empty but there was a window near the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, she could see people inside.

Demyx and Xaldin left her alone. Minutes later, the dirty blonde from before, Vexen, walked in.

Alana turned around and glared at him. "You're suppose to be the one conducting the experiment, right?"

"I am," Vexen answered before snapping his fingers. Suddenly, Dusks appeared in a line in front of the door. Then Vexen threw something at her.

It skidded on the floor toward her and she looked down. It was the blue cube in all its glory. Alana picked it up and looked at Vexen, wondering why he gave it to her. Then it hit her. It was for whatever experiment he wanted to conduct.

"I'll be expecting that back," Vexen said matter-of-factly.

"Okay," Alana muttered.

"You mentioned that you can sense auras," Vexen said clearly for her to hear. "Now does any of the auras in the cube match any of the nobodies' here?"

"No."

"Positive?"

"I'm positive."

" . . . Summon a heartless."

She held the cube out in front of her and it glowed. "**Release**," she said. Soon, a heartless was released from its captivity. It was a Shadow and it was in a dormant state. "Now what?"

"Fuse that heartless with this nobody." On cue, one of the dusks stepped forward.

"It won't work," Alana said.

Vexen smirked. "Force it to happen."

Alana sighed and outstretched her hands. A circle spread out from under her feet and the creatures. She clasped her hands together and said, "**Unite**." She wasn't sure of the outcome herself. The process started out alright. They started to merge together. But then it stopped. Before they could marge together completely, the Nobody and the Heartless started to writhe. Suddenly the Shadow exploded and the captive heart was released. The circle disappeared and only the Dusk remained.

Alana sat down on the floor. That was it. She couldn't do another one.

However, Vexen had other ideas. "Get up. Try it again."

"I can only do it once every . . . three days."

"Can you move?"

"Yes but---"

"Do it again."

* * *

"Where do you think she gets her power from?" Roxas asked thoughtfully. He was watching from the window with a few other Organization members. The room had gray walls and a table pushed up against the wall. Also, there were several chairs in the room but no one bothered sitting down in them.

Axel, who was standing next to Roxas, watched as Alana stood back up. "That's what Xemnas wants to know."

Marluxia folded his arms. He saw that Vexen had forced the girl to try that trick again. "Vexen claims he has a theory but he's not sure of it yet."

Axel looked away from the window and glared at Marluxia. "What's the theory?"

Marluxia's eyes narrowed. "Vexen refused to tell me."

Roxas wasn't paying much attention to their conversation. He had been watching the "experiment" the entire time. So he had seen her second attempt had failed. "It didn't work," he announced so the other two could have an idea what was going on.

Axel's attention went back to Vexen and Alana. "Didn't you memorize what she said? It won't work if the process is forced." He raised eyebrow when he saw Alana fall inside the room.

Marluxia smirked. "It looks as if Vexen might have overdone it."

**A/N:** **And that it for now. Bluebunny2006, Kanna123, and UnderAgeThinker: thanks for the reviews. They're really appreciated. Surprisingly, I don't have much to type now. Till later.**


	5. Chapter 5: Secret Plans Within the Organ

**A/N: Heh, I updated. It's been a long time since the last chapter. Almost what? A month? Well here it is. **

**:CHAPTER 5:**

**Secret Plans Within the Organization**

Alana woke up in her dimly lit room and her slate eyes focused on the ceiling. She wondered how long she had been sleeping for. The last thing she remembered was her trying her spell and it hadn't work. Suddenly she hit her forehead with the palm of her hand, remembering that she had overdone it. Frustrated that she had been knocked out for who knew how long, Alana sat up on the bed. She was surprised to see someone else in the room.

It was a male and he was sitting on the foot of her bed. A black eyepatch covered his right eye and a scar was on his left cheek. He had streaks of gray in his black hair, which he wore in a ponytail. In addition, he also wore the Organization cloak. Finally, he looked at her.

Alana studied him before asking, "Who are you?"

He smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He said, his voice carrying an accent.

Alana narrowed her eyes at him but restrained herself from lashing out. She still remembered how Saix had injured her. She didn't know how powerful this guy was. "Would it kill you if you tell me?"

He chuckled. "Kill me? As if. I just don't feel like sharing."

Alana rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. Then she folded her arms and fell back into the bed. "At least tell me where Axel is."

The guy chuckled again. Apparently, he more amused than she thought he would be. "Oh, so you have a thing for Axel now? When did this happen? The last five days you've been unconscious?"

"Five days?" She repeated, shocked by how much time had elapsed. She lifted her arm, smelled herself, and winced. Her bath was overdue and she suddenly wanted to take one as soon as possible. Alana cast a glare at the guy and saw his raised eyebrow. "I need to bathe," she explained.

A portal opened up and Demyx stepped out of it. "Hey, Alana!" He glanced at the guy on the bed. "Xigbar, your shift is over."

_So that's his name, _Alana thought silently to herself. When she glared at him, Xigbar grinned.

Alana sighed and sat up again. This time she got out of bed and walked toward the portal. She wondered if Axel was on the other side talking to other members. Suddenly she realized that from the time she had woken up, Axel had been one of the first things on her mind. She felt like slapping herself. She was certain that she hated the guy. Hopefully, she was only craving for his attention and nothing more.

The door opened and Axel walked in. Alana raised an eyebrow and thought about why he didn't want to use a portal like everyone else. While she was thinking, she stood still and her eyes remained on him.

"If I had known you would be up, I would have brought you some food." Axel's emerald eyes gazed at her, waiting for her response.

" . . . You should have," was all she could think of at the time. She wished she had a better comeback or something witty but nothing had came to mind.

Xigbar stood up and headed to the door. "I'm going," he said in his laid-back voice. He went into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Axel thought for a bit before talking. "Do you want a tour of this place?"

"A what?" Alana was surprised at the offer. It wasn't often that she was allowed to step outside of the room. The only times she could recall were for the experiment and the meeting with Xemnas. The only other time that she had stepped outside of her room had been forbidden and that was when she had tried to escape. However, during those three times, she never saw all the rooms she had passed by.

"A tour. You know, I show you around this place and you go 'oo' and 'ah'. Then if you want, I could get you something to eat. But only if you want to."

"Okay," Alana answered.

Axel raised his eyebrows. "No arguments? Nothing?"

"Nothing," Alana said, walking passed him to the door. "There's no point in it, right?"

"I guess so," Axel slowly said, as if he was unsure how to respond to that.

* * *

Marluxia was walking down the hallway with Larxene. They were discussing Vexen and his theories. For whatever reason, Marluxia had enough trust in the female to share the information he had gotten from Vexen. A majority of it had been obtained through asking and blackmailing. Marluxia had threaten to go to Xemnas and tell him whose fault it was that Alana was unconscious. Vexen had cracked and told him all the information Marluxia had wanted to know.

The blonde turned on him. "What was that?"

His eyes shifted to see if any of the doors had opened or someone was walking down the hallway. He saw no one and answered. "Vexen believes that the girl's gifts are connected to Kingdom Hearts."

Larxene smirked. "Why would he say that?"

"Because the girl could reverse the entire process. However, only Axel and Demyx have seen her do it. And their accountability is limited. Especially Axel's. I'm just waiting for the moment he tries to kidnap the girl from the Organization."

Larxene looked at him with her blue eyes and folded her arms. "Unless I'm mistaken, you had similar plans for her as well." She stopped walking when Marluxia placed his arm in front of her. She looked down the hallway and saw Axel with their guest.

Axel saw them and stopped walking. Alana stopped next to him, her eyes on the blonde and Marluxia. She had never seen the blonde before. It was the only female member she had seen in the building. Alana glanced at Axel.

Axel smirked at the other two members. "Larxene, Marluxia, what are you doing here?"

Larxene smiled. "Marluxia was just filling me on the Vexen's experiment."

Alana narrowed her eyes at them and then glared at Axel. _They're lying. That experiment happened five days ago. It would be a little odd if she just hearing about it now. Even Axel knows that. Isn't he going to say something?_

Axel didn't give the answer she expected. "All right. I'll see you later." He glared at Marluxia for a second and then looked down at Alana. "Let's finish our tour." Without waiting for a response, he grabbed her arm and led her down the hallway. He passed Marluxia, knocking him purposely in the shoulder as he went by.

Marluxia glared at his retreating back, hatred burning in his blue eyes. When Axel and Alana were gone, he talked again. "If the girl is really connected to Kingdom Hearts, where did she come from? She can't really be human."

Larxene shrugged. "Vexie doesn't have the answer?"

Marluxia's blue eyes slightly narrowed. "No, he doesn't. Maybe I can have Naminé take a look at her and delve into her memories for me."

* * *

Zexion and Lexaeus was in the library. Three out of the four walls were filled with books. The only empty wall was the one that had the door in it. There was no windows. However, there was a skylight overhead and a desk in the middle of the room.

Zexion looked at Lexaeus with his blue eyes. "Marluxia's a danger to the Organization. So is Larxene."

Lexaeus frowned. Unlike Zexion, he had a well-built body with muscular arms and torso. He also had brown hair that stood up slightly and piercing brown eyes. Lexaeus folded his arms. "Axel should not be trusted either. Those three are up to something."

"I hope Xemnas doesn't entrust the girl to Marluxia as he did with Naminé." Zexion was still not happy about that. Although he had been in the Organization longer than Marluxia, Xemnas had chosen to give Marluxia Naminé and that had angered Zexion. He glared at the ground, clenching his fists.

"I think that Axel has her," Lexaeus muttered.

Zexion looked up sharply. "How do you know?"

"He hangs around her the most," Lexaeus explained. "And brings to her most of the meals. Also, he was the one who brought her here."

Zexion started to pace the dim room. "It's not that the girl was entrusted to him. He's just trying to manipulate her to the point she'd do everything he'll say. After all the girl is still human. She still has feelings." Slowly his bluish gray hair started to turn red and his blue eyes started to turn emerald. He looked back at Lexaeus, this time with an Axel-smirk. "I'll see how much she's affected by his presence."

* * *

Alana supposed the tour had been interesting. She only met two new people today—Larxene and Xigbar. And because of those encounters, she could say she met ten out of the thirteen. The missing three were still complete mysteries to her. She stopped outside her door and looked back at Axel. "I guess I'm going now."

Axel nodded. "I have to go do something. I'll send Roxas to bring dinner for you later."

Alana nodded and went inside her room. Axel walked away and turned around the corner. From the opposite end of the hallway, Zexion approached Alana's room. He no longer looked like himself. Instead, he had the guise of Axel. He knocked on the door and in Axel's voice he said, "Alana?"

The girl opened the door and stared at him. "I thought you had something to do."

Zexion pushed his way into the room and heard the girl growl. He ignored her and said, "I wanted to talk to you."

"About?" Alana prompted, still not appreciative of the intrusion.

"About yourself," Zexion finally responded, after thinking about how to phrase it. "About where you came from, your childhood, your parents." He faced Alana and took both her hands in his.

Alana stared down at their hands and back into his eyes. "What the hell are you doing?"

Zexion stared at their hands as well, thinking about the situation. Suddenly he released one hand and pulled her closer to him with the other. Their faces were mere inches apart now and he could see the blush forming on her cheeks. "I forgot you like it when we're this close," he said, his eyes studying her. _Axel has already started on her, _he thought in disgust. _I wonder if she's attracted to him already._

Alana pulled away from him and walked away. "No, I don't."

"Sorry." He leaned against the wall while she remained on the other side of the room. "So, why don't you start with your childhood?"

"My childhood is none of your business."

"When did your master take you in?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"I still remember my childhood."

"Nobodies don't have childhoods."

"They do when they were humans. I remember my past, every single bit of it."

Alana walked over and sat on her bed. "Fine then, let's talk about you."

_Insolent girl, _Zexion thought. "Okay then," he said, smirking despite his anger. "I was always picked on. The kids use to make fun of me because I was different." He had no idea what had went on in Axel's childhood and he wasn't going to share his own. So he had come up with that story in about three seconds. Only it was the sappy, pity kind. Perhaps that was why Alana had scrutinizing look in her eye.

Zexion sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "My mother never liked me much either . . . Has your mother ever told you that she hated you?"

" . . . No, she didn't it. Neither did my dad . . . they weren't my real parents. Just two people who found me one day and decided to raise me. They couldn't have any children so I was the next best thing."

Zexion's emerald eyes flashed. Now he was making progress.

Alana looked at him, her slate eyes still impassive. "It must have been awful for you, Axel."

Zexion looked at the ground, almost forgetting she was addressing him. "At least I knew who my parents were. You don't remember their faces?"

There was a hesitation before she answered. "I guess I was too young to remember my real parents. But I remember that couple. They raised me until I was thirteen. Then I was given to Master Dimitri. After that, I never saw them again. I guess it was okay. Master was like a substitute for them. He taught me all the things that I know today." Alana looked at him. _That's the most I've said to Axel all day, _she thought. _Am I opening up to him?_

"Axel," she suddenly started. "Did you have someone like that in your life?"

Zexion shook his head. "No, I didn't."

"Oh," Alana whispered, feeling slight stupid for asking such a question. There was a knock on the door and Alana jumped. "Come in," she said.

The door opened and Roxas came in with a tray of food. "I brought dinner for---" He stopped when he saw Axel in the room. He frowned. "Axel?" He had just seen him a few minutes ago in the hallway and now he was suddenly in Alana's room. "How did you . . . never mind." Maybe he made a portal. That seemed logical but it didn't fit well into the puzzle. "Axel," he said suddenly. "Come outside with me for a moment. I need to ask you something."

Zexion narrowed his green eyes and stood up. He then left the room with Roxas. "What do you need?"

Suddenly, Roxas' keyblades appeared in his hands and he pointed one of them at him. "Change back," he ordered. "Before I make you."

Zexion smirked and returned to his normal self. "What gave me away?"

"Nothing. I had a feeling."

"You're going to report this to Axel?"

"Probably," Roxas muttered. He started to walk down the hallway. "Come near her as Axel again and you won't get off this easily."

Zexion folded his arms and sneered, "I doubt you have the resolve to do something about it, Number Thirteen."

Roxas stopped walking for a second and looked back at the guy. "Who said I was talking about myself?"

* * *

Several hours passed and Alana was fast asleep in her bed. She was unaware of the two visitors that came into her room. Marluxia and Naminé had came through a portal a few seconds ago. Now, they stood by her bed, peering down at her.

"Delve into her memories but don't alter anything," Marluxia ordered Naminé.

Naminé nodded and placed her hand over Alana's forehead. "I'll try." She tried her hardest. However, there was a mental block in Alana's mind and it wasn't breaking right away. "It might take a while though."

**A/N: And that's it. Anyway, thanks to .Another Side-Deep Dive, UnderAgeThinker, and Esinahs for the reviews. That's it for now. Till later.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Cracked Cube

**A/N: Hello. Here's another chapter, this one a bit longer than the previous ones and hopefully just as good. I'm trying to pick up the pace a bit because I got a few things planned out. So by next chapter, I'll get somewhere. At least this time the wait wasn't long. **

**CHAPTER 6**

**:The Cracked Cube:**

Alana sighed as she picked up another crayon and pressed it against the paper before her. She was in Vexen's lab, the lab rat of yet another experiment. Ever since the day she fainted, his experiments had been a little more simpler. So far, she had been forced to run a mile, go through a card game with an Organization member named Luxord, and now she had to draw a picture. Somehow they were suppose to add up to something but Alana couldn't see it.

She looked up and saw Axel on the opposite wall. He made a funny face at her and she shook her head before looking down at her picture. Axel had been assigned to watch over Vexen's experiments in the lab. As much as she "couldn't stand" Axel, she didn't mind his presence. It was somehow comforting to know he was with her. However, she didn't consider Vexen's presence the same way.

Vexen walked over to the table she sat at and picked up the picture. Immediately after his sea-green eyes landed on the paper, his face contorted. "What is this?!" He exclaimed.

Alana shrugged. It didn't look that bad to her. "I think it's obvious."

Axel walked away from his spot and went to go see the picture himself. He grinned when he saw it. "At least it's colorful." Even that was an understatement. The picture was filled with stick-figures and 2D houses. The sky wasn't even colored in and the sun was hardly recognizable. And the demented sideway ovals were meant to be clouds. It looked like the work of a kindergartner. Axel guessed that it was the pathetic attempt that made it so funny to him.

"Get out," Vexen ordered. "You have no respect for my experiment! The both of you, now!"

Alana slowly stood up and walked out of the room. Axel followed her out. Soon they were aimlessly walking down the hallway, side by side. Alana looked at the redhead. "How long has it been since I've been here?"

"Two weeks," Axel said slowly, a bit dubious on his answer. "Maybe more than that."

"Master Dimitri must be worried about me," she said, more to herself than to Axel. "If it's been that long, he must be."

Axel wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his cloaked body. "Don't worry. I'm sure if you cooperate with the Organization, we won't kill you and you can return to your master." He glanced down at her and saw the look she was giving him. He removed his arm from around her waist and returned it to his side. Alana turned away from him and he knew that he was out of her territory.

"Hey, Axel," Alana started. "Do Nobodies have feelings?"

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Ask Demyx and he'd probably say yes. But we don't. Why did you ask?"

"No reason." She looked up and met his emerald eyes. She couldn't understand why they attracted her so much. They were deep and full of something. She wanted to use the word 'emotions' but that couldn't be correct. Nobodies had no hearts. Therefore they had no emotions. Saying otherwise would be a lie and her master taught her that well. However, she didn't want to think about it. Alana needed people she could talk with and who would understand her. Somehow Axel had became one of them.

"So, do I have another experiment tomorrow?" Alana asked changing the subject.

"No," Axel responded. "You're off tomorrow."

"Good," Alana said. "I was getting sick of them. They all seem pointless to me." She stopped outside her door and opened it. Then she looked back at the redhead. "I'll see you at my dinner time."

Just when she was about to go in, Axel grabbed her shoulders. She turned around and looked at him. "What is it now?"

"Do you want to get out of this place?"

Alana stared at Axel for a while, trying to determine if he was joking. When she didn't see him cracking a smile, she answered. "Axel, as far as I'm concerned I can't leave this place even if I wanted to. You and the Organization would stop me."

"So you're saying that you give up?"

"Axel, after what happened the first time, I'm not that stupid . . . Do you think I am?"

". . . No. I'll see you later." Axel then walked off. Alana watched his back for a while before walking into her room and closing the door. Then she threw herself onto her bed.

_My situation looks worse day by day. I don't have my strength since my food has been messed with. It's thirteen of them against one of me and that's only if they keep their nobody followers out of it. For now, I'm stuck here. _She closed her slate eyes and sighed. _It's so different from home. I never had to deal with so many people. It was only me most of the time . . . hmph, I wonder how Master is doing._

* * *

Some time later, Alana bolted up and realized she had fallen asleep. She sat on her bed in the dark, giving her eyes time to adjust. Her stomach growled and she glanced around the room to see if Axel had came by with food. The usual dinner-on-a-tray was not resting on the dresser. This made Alana slightly aggravated. She got off the bed and headed toward the door. Alana stopped moving when she heard a weird sound behind her and turned around. It took her a moment to realize it was a Heartless staring at her with its big yellow eyes.

Her staff appeared in her hands and she whacked it. The attack didn't do much; the Heartless just flinched. When she was about to try again, more Shadows appeared. "What the hell . . ." She kept her eyes on the Heartless as she tried to open the door with one hand. When the door opened, one leaped at her. Alana ran into the hallway and slammed the door immediately. There was a thud when the Heartless collided with the door. She leaned on the other side of it as her staff disappeared from her hand. Then she took off.

_Since when have there been Heartless in this place? _Alana thought while she ran down the hallway. Another Shadow appeared in front of her and she halted. It leaped at her and she braced herself for the attack. From behind her arms, Alana saw Roxas in the air with two keyblades. He came back to the floor, his keyblades piercing and vanquishing the Heartless. A heart was released and it disappeared.

"Are you all right?" He asked, standing up straight.

"Yeah," she responded. "I'm fine . . . where are all these Heartless coming from?"

"A funny thing happened." Alana glanced back and saw a dark portal. Axel walked out of it, his chakram in his hands. The portal closed behind him. "Remember that little blue cube of yours? Yeah, it cracked."

"What was that?" Alana asked, her eyebrows lifted. There was no way in hell that---

"It cracked," Axel repeated. "But I had nothing to do with it. It was all Vexen's fault."

_Don't lose your cool, _she told herself. Alana folded her arms and stared at the ground in contemplation. "How large is the crack?" She finally asked.

"Small, I guess," Roxas answered.

Alana nodded in reassurance to herself. "Okay. Then only the weak Heartless should get out." She turned and looked at Axel. "There should be at least a hundred of them."

Axel peered over Alana's shoulder and saw a Shadow appear. He threw his chakram and they turned into balls of fire. They whizzed passed Alana and hit the Heartless. It caught on fire and disintegrated.

"We should start to move," Roxas announced. "Before more start appearing."

"Where to?" Alana inquired.

Axel grabbed her hand and started to pull her along. "We're going outside. From there, we can head to the lower levels."

"There's more to this place? All you showed me was this floor, and the one that's above it." Alana glanced at his hand that was holding hers. She hated the fact that Axel was pulling her along in the hallways. It made her feel like she was dog on a leash or a child holding a grownup's hand crossing the street. Then Roxas was at the rear as if he was a guard or something like it. He had his keyblades at ready; Axel, on the other hand, no longer had his chakram out.

Axel smirked. "I didn't want you doing something stupid." He opened a portal and stepped through it, leading her inside.

Alana's slate eyes opened wide but she was certain no one saw. She was in absolute darkness for a few seconds. During that time, she couldn't see Axel or hear Roxas walking behind her. All she could feel was Axel's gloved hand clasped over her hand tightly. Suddenly there was a light and she was out in the open. Then she was truly in shock.

Her slate eyes stared at the incomplete heart in the sky that seemed close to them yet was far. Then her eyes traveled down and saw tiny buildings against the skyline. Her hand slipped out of Axel's grasp as she approached the edge of the pathway. Below them was a city, completed with neon lights and dark streets. There seemed to be no life down there.

While Alana studied the city, Roxas looked at the surrounding area. "I don't see any out here yet but we should keep moving."

"We would," Axel said, his gaze on Alana, "but she wants to look at the scenery."

"Maybe you should go get her. I would go but you talk to her more than I do."

Axel looked at Alana and approached the girl. When he was behind her, he wrapped her arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. He heard her groan—her acknowledgment of his presence. However that didn't stop him from drawling into her ear. "That city, this place, all part of the World That Never Was. Got it memorized? Good, now let's move on before---"

Heartless appeared, surrounding the three of them. Axel let go of Alana and his chakram were soon in his hands. His emerald eyes glanced at the Shadows. "Damn. There's so many."

Roxas began twirling his keyblades and smirked. "It's too many for you?"

"Na," Axel grinned. "It's just how I like it!" Flames engulfed his weapons and he threw them into the crowd of Shadows. The chakram hit several of them and returned to their owner.

Roxas ran into the crowd and began swinging his keyblades. He picked up momentum and his attacks became faster.

Alana stood there, slightly upset that she wasn't part of the fight. She hated to be protected by others or to be the one who sat on the sidelines. If it wasn't for whatever potion that was in her food, she would be fighting as well.

Suddenly, Roxas and Axel jumped back and landed in front of Alana. Axel looked back at the girl, his emerald eyes meeting her slate ones. "Sorry. We almost forgot about you."

"It's all right," Alana said. Axel looked so cute was when he was serious and determined. Alana mentally slapped herself for thinking that.

Axel tore his eyes off the girl and looked at the growing crowd of Heartless. "Ready, Roxas?"

Roxas narrowed his blue eyes. "I think I can handle half of them."

Axel smirked. "I can handle more than that."

"Prove it."

Axel held his weapons in fighting position. "I will!"

* * *

Some time had passed. As many Heartless as the two Nobodies had destroyed, more kept on appearing. Eventually, the two boys' bodies began to feel the fatigue. Roxas was leaning on his keyblade. Axel was just hunched over, his chakram dangling by his sides.

"This is ridiculous," Axel panted. "Even Nobodies have their limits."

"We have to retreat," Roxas said.

"Like you should have done from the beginning?" Alana muttered. She had feeling she sounded ungrateful and wanted to take it back.

Axel looked back at her. "You shouldn't be talking. At least we're fighting. You're just standing there."

Although he was right, Alana wasn't going to take it. "If my food hadn't been drugged the last few weeks, then maybe I would have--"

"Um, guys," Roxas said, his eyes glancing at the crowd of Heartless. "I don't think arguing going to help us. We can a) escape and they'll find us again or b) continue fighting."

Axel looked up and saw three cloaked figures on a higher platform. "Or maybe we don't have to."

Out of nowhere, a bubble descended from the sky. Then another and another. Soon, the sky was full of them. They fell on top of the Heartless and strangely enough, destroyed the Shadows when they exploded.

Axel threw his chakram once again to get rid of the few left standing. The two weapons disappeared and Axel almost collapsed. Before he did, someone threw his arm over their shoulder. He glanced to his left and saw it was Alana. "I'm only doing this because you helped me," she told him.

Axel grinned. "I think there's more to that."

Three Organization members jumped down in front of them and removed their hoods. One was Demyx. The other two were Marluxia and Saix. Roxas was pretty sure he heard when Axel said "shit"under his breath.

"Oh," Demyx said. "So this is where the Heartless been going. To the only heart in this building."

"Surely you must have known they would go to the prisoner," Marluxia sneered at Roxas and Axel.

"And that's why we had to go get her," Roxas said. "She was practically defenseless."

Saix narrowed his golden eyes. "So you and Number Eight brought her outside? I thought I told you to keep her in the secluded part of the castle."

"Secluded?" Alana whispered. Her eyes were on Saix the entire time.

"Meaning," Axel began to explain in a low voice, "you couldn't get out of there. There's no hallways, stairs, or elevators connecting to any other places. So that time you tried to escape—pointless."

Her slate eyes narrowed at Saix out anger and hatred. She still remembered what he had done to her. She was still recovering from those injuries.

Saix looked at her. "Why are still giving me that defiant look?" Alana quickly averted her gaze and stared at the ground. Saix narrowed his eyes out of satisfaction. "This time you seem to remember your place." He turned around and walked away. A portal opened in front of him and he walked into it.

"See you guys later," Demyx said and followed Saix.

Marluxia lingered for awhile. "You have five minutes to return her to her room." Then he too walked into the portal.

* * *

They had teleported inside the castle. By then Axel could walk on his own and Roxas felt better. The two stood outside the room with Alana having a few last minutes words when Larxene came by. She had a blonde standing next to her. She had blue eyes and wore a white dress. The girl saw Roxas and waved shyly at him. Roxas nodded in acknowledgment.

Larxene grinned. "I heard you had to deal with Saix today after the incident. Did you fight with him or something?"

"We didn't," Axel said. "He just talked to us."

Larxene sighed and folded her arms. "That's boring. The only reason I came here was to hear something interesting. If that's the case," she added as she opened a portal, "I'm going. Come on Naminé." They went through it.

"That girl looks familiar," Alana said after the two left.

"Who?" Roxas asked. "Larxene?"

"No, the other one."

Axel stared at Alana. "You've never seen her until now."

"I know but. . . I just have this feeling. That's all."

"You don't think that. . ." Roxas' voice trailed off and he looked at Axel.

Axel sighed and scratched his head. "I don't know. Maybe." He glanced at Alana, seeing the confusion etched into her face. "Why don't you get ready for bed and I'll see you in about thirty minutes?"

"Why?" Alana asked, not seeing the point in a nightly visit.

Axel smirked. "'Cause I have a feeling that you're hungry." With that, he walked off, Roxas by his side.

Alana heard her stomach, reminding her that she hadn't eaten yet. She walked into her room and closed the door.

* * *

Later, Alana sat on the bed. She had already changed into her pajamas. She wore a black tank top and light blue pajama bottoms that had clouds on it. Larxene had gotten that outfit and a dress for her out of request for clothing. Otherwise, the Savage Nymph wouldn't have bothered.

Someone knocked on the door. Alana got up and opened the door. Axel stood in front of her with a smirk, holding a tray of food. Tonight's menu consisted of barbeque ribs and rice. Alana took a whiff and found that it smelled delicious. She was going to take it but Axel pulled the tray away from her. "Not yet," he said, walking inside and closing the door with his foot. "I need to ask you something important."

"What is it?"

"Do you want to stay here?"

"I told you---"

"I'm not asking about escaping," Axel said, cutting her off. "How can I put this. . . Would you rather stay here than in the outside world?"

"I prefer being outside and free, if that's what you mean."

Axel smirked. "Good. Then you don't need this anymore."

Alana raised an eyebrow. She was confused and didn't understand what Axel was talking about. Her slate eyes followed Axel as he placed the tray on the dresser. One second the food was steaming hot. Then it erupted into flames. "Why did you do that for?" She asked.

Axel's emerald eyes were lit up by the flames as he waited for the food to turn into ashes. "It's tainted, remember?"

"So?" Alana muttered. "Now the room's going to smell of burnt rice."

"It's not," Axel assured her. He reached under his cloak and pulled out a brown paper bag. He threw it at her and Alana caught it. He waited for her to open it and pull out the sandwich before speaking again. "If you're going to escape, you need your strength back, right?"

Alana stared at the deli sandwich and then at the redhead. "Why are you doing this?"

Axel grinned. "I like you a lot more than I thought."

Her gaze returned to the sandwich. To eat it would mean taking a risk of being in trouble with another Organization member. But if Axel was willing to take the risk for her, then the punishment couldn't be so bad. With that mind set, the girl finally took a bite out of the sandwich. She chewed the morsel and swallowed. "I guess I feel the same about you."

**A/N: Thanks to .Another Side-Deep Dive, blackangel04, Bluebunny2006, UnderAgeThinker, and SilverGhostKitsune for reviewing. You guys are freakin' awesome. So are the ones who put this story on their favorites/alert list. Till next time.**


	7. Chapter 7: Bickerings and Gatherings

**A/N: I posted two chapters this time. It's part of the whole picking-up-the-pace thing since I'm not going to be here in the summer and I'm not sure if the story will be finished before then. This chapter is definitely longer than the others. So it will be no surprise if you only read this chapter and save the other one for later. Anyway enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 7**

**:Bickerings and Gatherings:**

_Morning, _Alana grudgingly thought as she sat up. Like the last couple of weeks, there was no sun to greet her. She ran a hand through her dark brown hair and looked around. She noticed the tray of food on the dresser. This time, pancakes laced with maple syrup were on it. _Axel's been here already_, she thought before her eyes went over to her the clothes on the chair._ What can I wear today? _Her eyes first landed on the shorts and sweatshirt she had received on the first day. Then her eyes stared at the dress. She hadn't really asked for the dress. She hated to wear them. But because Alana never did specify what she wanted, Larxene had just gotten it. At least the Savage Nymph didn't get one that was pink.

The dress was a maroon color with a few black trimmings here and there. The top part was tight yet the bottom was flowing. It stopped four inches above the knees and exposed the wearer's shoulders. It had two large straps that met at a black collar. There was nothing much to cover her back.

Alana got out of bed and picked up the sweatshirt. Since she had worn it for some days now, it was definitely dirty and needed to be washed. She sighed and threw the dress on the bed. _I guess that's what I'm wearing until my other outfit is clean. _

After locating her brown boots, she retrieved the tray and sat on her bed. She noticed a little card on it and picked it up. She was certain it was from Axel.

_I got you some pancakes from some other world. So don't worry–they're all right to eat._

Alana put it in her pocket for safe keeping and tasted the pancakes. He was right—they were delicious compared to the cereal the Organization had ready for her each morning.

After she finished eating, she quickly got dressed and headed out the door. She looked around and saw no one in the hallway. Alana wondered where everyone was. She walked around the corridors to see if an Organization member was around. When she saw nobody, she started to head back to her room to wait there. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her shoulders and she jumped. "Ax . . ." She turned around and met blue eyes. "Demyx? Why are you here?"

The blonde grinned. "So we can hang out today." Without warning, a portal appeared in front of them and he led her through it.

On other side was a room. It reminded Alana of a lounge. It had a few couches, a table in the corner, and wall-to-wall carpeting. Already in it was Axel, Roxas, Xigbar, and Larxene. They all looked up and their eyes landed on her.

Larxene was the one to break the silence. "Well, isn't it Axel's little girlfriend. What brings you to this party?"

Alana stared at the ground and pursed her lips together. It was only the third time they had seen each other and Alana had a feeling that Larxene had some vendetta against her. "Good to see you, too," she muttered.

Xigbar smirked. "You don't sound so happy." He stood and walked over to Alana. He stuck his hand out. "I never properly introduced myself. I'm Xigbar, the Organization's Number Two. Alana, right?"

"Yeah," Alana answered.

As Xigbar talked to Alana, Axel studied the dress she was wearing. It wasn't revealing much about the girl and it was sort of disappointing. However, just from where the dress fit tightly, he could tell she had a good physique. As his thoughts went on and on, he was nudged by Roxas. He looked at his friend.

"It's pretty obvious, man," Roxas said in a low voice.

"What is?" Axel asked. Roxas didn't respond. Axel looked up and saw Alana standing in front of them.

"Scoot over," she said. It didn't sound like a demand; it was more on the question side. Axel moved and Alana sat between the two boys. She looked at them and then the others in the room. It was strange; she felt sort of welcomed.

* * *

For the last half an hour, the group sat around and had small conversations. However, they couldn't think of anything else to say and had became silent. Larxene was reading a book. Demyx had his sitar out and was occasionally strumming it. Every once in a while, Axel would look at Alana and vice versa. Roxas was staring at the ceiling thinking about the Organization and his own problems. Xigbar was trying to recall the last time he had left the castle.

Demyx strummed his sitar again and looked at Alana. He grinned. "It's the first time I've seen you in a dress and it looks good on you." The whole room suddenly came back to life.

Larxene tore her eyes away from the book and stared at Alana. "I thought you hated dresses."

"I do," Alana said. "I just didn't have anything else to wear."

"Well, Axel must like the dress since he's been staring at you," Xigbar said.

"'Cause Axel just realized that she was girl," Roxas explained.

Axel glanced at the girl next to him and saw that she was giving him a look. He smirked and looked away. "Surprisingly, I'll keep my comments to myself this time."

"Yeah, that is a surprise," Alana muttered and looked elsewhere.

Without warning, the door opened and everyone stopped talking. Their attention went to the doorway. Alana recognized the girl named Naminé and the Organization member, Marluxia. Behind them, was a guy she had never seen before. He had blue eyes and bluish gray hair that hung in front of his face.

The unknown member pushed his way to the door and looked around the room. His eyes landed on her. "So I did pick up her scent."

"Who brought her up here?" Marluxia asked.

Xigbar raised an eyebrow. "As far as I'm concerned, I don't have to answer you, Number_ Eleven_. I don't take orders from a lesser nobody."

Marluxia's eyes swirled onto Roxas and Larxene. "Numbers Twelve and Thirteen, as your superior, I demand an answer from you now."

Xigbar spoke up again. "They don't have to say anything. Isn't that right, Roxas?" He smirked and looked at the teenager with his golden eyes. Roxas nodded slowly, hating that he had been dragged into this.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Marluxia barked.

Zexion clenched his fists. "The idiot," he muttered under his breath. He believed that Marluxia made a foolish move and apparently everyone else had the same thought. Demyx looked up from his sitar and stared at the two Organization members. Larxene smirked, ready for a fight that might come. Roxas glanced at Xigbar, wondering what he would say to Marluxia.

Xigbar stood up and approached Marluxia. "You want to try that again, Marluxia?"

Marluxia lifted up his arm and his pink scythe appeared in his hand. Number Eleven smirked. "I'm not scared of you. We'll fight right here, right now."

Axel got up and approached the two of them in the center of the room. He held his arms out and his chakram appeared in his hands. "Xigbar, I'll deal with the arrogant bastard. I've been waiting for a reason to kill him."

The Graceful Assassin smirked and swung his scythe at Axel. "Fine then. I'll kill you first."

Axel jumped back and avoided it. Zexion came out from behind Marluxia, transforming into someone else. Soon he became Xaldin armed with the six lances. Roxas ran in front and blocked with his keyblades. "Why don't you change back?!" Roxas charged at Zexion and swung his keyblades at him. Zexion jumped over them and sent his lances at him.

Marluxia charged at Axel. Axel flipped backward and threw his chakram at him. The two chakram caught on fire. Marluxia jumped backward in a zigzag pattern, avoiding both of them. The chakram hit a sofa, catching it on fire.

Alana was dragged behind another couch by Demyx. "I wouldn't be surprise if Axel makes the whole room catch fire," he told her.

Alana looked at the Nobody in disbelief. "I doubt Axel's that stupid."

Larxene crawled over and joined the group. "Who do you think will win?" When the two shrugged, she peered over the top to see what was going on. "I hope it's Marluxia. Not like I got anything against Axel, but Marluxia and I got a deal."

Alana stared at Larxene. There was no way in hell that Axel would lose. He hated the flower guy too much. And yet . . . . Alana peeked over the top of the couch, a little "curious" about how Axel was doing.

Roxas and Axel were on one side of the room; Marluxia and Zexion on the other. Naminé stood by the doorway while Xigbar watched from the side of the room on the only other couch.

"So now what? You're planning to betray the Organization, Marluxia?" Axel asked.

"And this is coming from a traitor," Marluxia sneered.

Axel charged at him, one of his chakram raised high in the air. Marluxia pulled a dirty trick. He grabbed Naminé from the doorway and threw the girl in front. The girl stood there, frightened that the Flurry of Dancing Flames was still coming. Axel smirked. "I don't give a damn if I have to go through that witch to get to you!"

If everyone felt the same way, Axel would have. But before he could have the wonderful opportunity, Roxas came between the two and protected Naminé against Axel.

Axel was furious. "Why did you do that?!"

"'Cause she's not part of this fight!" Roxas argued back.

Axel gritted his teeth. He had figured that he would have gotten Marluxia that way. "Take your little girlfriend and get out of the way! I'll take them both on, the little wannabe and the fucking prick!"

Xigbar chuckled. "Axel, you should watch that tongue of yours!" He said. He didn't know much about the alliances forming, but he knew that he himself was loyal to Xemnas and to the Organization. If Marluxia or Axel had the intention of betraying their cause, then let them kill each other. It would only make one less problem.

"Step aside foolish girl!" Marluxia barked and knocked Naminé into the ground.

"Naminé!" Roxas cried out. He glared at Marluxia. "You . . . jerk!" His Oblivion keyblade disappeared and he punched the Graceful Assassin in the face. Roxas was about to run forward but Axel's burning chakram whizzed in front of him, forcing him to halt.

The chakram were aimed for Marluxia. Marluxia saw them coming and hit the ground with the butt end of his scythe. The created force sent the chakram into the ceiling. He was nowhere near Roxas or Axel but he swung his weapon. There was this line of pink light as if it had been drawn by the scythe. It slashed Axel across the chest. Blood spurted from the wound and Axel's eyes widen at the sight of it on the floor.

Axel clenched his teeth again and stuck his hands up. "Bastard!" The chakram started to turn in the ceiling. Then they were free and came down. They ripped through Marluxia's shoulders.

Zexion, who had on the guise of Xaldin still, was pushed out of the way. He gasped when he saw it was Saix.

Saix walked into the room and all eyes stared at him. Larxene and Demyx stood up from behind the couch, seeing no need to hide there. Demyx grabbed Alana by the arm and pulled her up.

"What is going on in here?" Saix asked. His golden eyes followed Demyx. Number Nine had his sitar out. Demyx strummed it and bubbles shot out from it. He was attempting to put out the couch that had been set ablaze.

Xigbar sighed and placed his arms behind his head. "I would never ever condone this behavior. But they wouldn't listen to me."

Saix stared at Axel and then glanced at Marluxia. "If it was up to me, both of you would be turned into dusks. Clean this place immediately." He created a portal and left.

Zexion reverted to his old self and looked at the others. "He meant everyone except me and Xigbar."

Larxene kicked the couch out of frustration. "I didn't even make the stupid mess. Isn't that right, Alana?" She looked to her right and saw that the girl was gone. Larxene realized that Alana had went to Axel's side. Apparently, she was talking about his injuries and Axel was being stubborn about it. Yet, Axel had a compassionate look in his emerald eyes that said he was being stubborn so Alana wouldn't worry. It seemed as if Axel was hiding his feelings behind that mask.

As weak as Alana was, the girl smacked his injury and still managed to make Axel grimaced in pain.

Larxene snorted at her thoughts. Axel was just like everyone else in the Organization—he had no feelings.

* * *

After cleaning the room, Alana returned to her room. Axel had came so she could tend to his wounds; he didn't trust Vexen so much nowadays. Roxas and Demyx also came along. She didn't understand why they wanted to be there as well. All she was going to do was dress Axel's wounds.

Alana, after retrieving ointments and bandages, plopped down on the bed next to Axel. _Stupid dress, _she thought as she twisted her body and kept her legs close together. Roxas and Demyx was sitting on the floor; she didn't want them to see anything more than they had to.

Suddenly, Demyx took out a brown bag from under his black cloak. "Hungry Alana?"

"How do you know----" Alana started to say but Axel cut her off.

"He's in on it, too."

"Oh." Alana looked at Demyx and shook her head in response to his question. "I'll eat it whenever I finished with Axel." She took some ointment and smeared it on her hands. Axel was sitting on the bed next to her, so she had to lean over him. Her hands started to put the ointment on the wound, gliding over the planes of his chest. _This is so awkward, _she thought.

"Two weeks from now, we'll try to escape," Axel said, eying her hands. She was acting like she didn't want to touch him, which he couldn't understand.

"Are you sure I'm the right guy for the job?" Demyx asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Roxas will help you and by then, Alana should have her strength back."

"So, it's four of us against ten of them." Roxas tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling. "The odds never looked so good."

Alana looked back at the teenager. "I thought you were an optimist."

"Well," Roxas started, "if _Axel's _plan fails, us three will get in trouble. Nothing would happen to you, Alana—the Organization needs you. Me, I'm not so sure what they would do to me. But Axel and Demyx . . . the chances are they might be turned into Dusks."

Demyx groaned. "Oh, I can't believe I got myself into this. I don't want to be a Dusk."

Alana picked up a roll of bandages and unrolled it. She started to wrap, wondering why she even bothered. Axel could heal faster than she would. When Demyx muttered something about not being cut out for the job, she glanced back at him. "Then don't be part of it. I never asked for your help anyway."

Demyx pouted. "Do you have to hurt my feelings?"

"Nobodies don't have feelings."

Demyx grinned. "Yes we do."

"No, you don't."

"Yes we—"

"Um, how about we review the plan one more time?" Roxas suggested, before the girl could say something to the Melodious Nocturne. Alana had called him optimistic and he guessed that she was right. However, he would say that she was the opposite. He wondered if Alana was one of those girls with a messed up childhood and everything bad had happened to them and were depress all the time. What was an even greater mystery to him----how Axel had this strong "interest" in her. He looked at the two. Alana was almost done and Axel was watching her.

Axel started to explain the plan one more time. "The morning of the escape, I'll take Alana from this room. If they try to stop us on the way out, you and Demyx will try to fend them off at checkpoints."

Alana just finished as she looked at the two members sitting on the floor. "You're coming with us?"

Roxas shrugged. "We don't know yet. We might not be able to."

Demyx stood and stretched. "We'll see when the day comes."

Roxas got up and opened a portal. "I'll see you later." He walked through it. Demyx waved goodbye and left as well.

Alana got off the bed and walked over to tray. The food on it had turned into ashes already. She sighed. "Two more weeks of this place."

"So how are your injuries?" Axel asked.

Alana gave it to him in short, to-the-point sentences. "Better. Not fully healed yet. Incase you want details, there's a scar." Alana felt her hair shifted and turned around. She saw it was Axel that had moved it. He was studying the scar that she had mentioned. "It's not a big deal."

"I can't help it if I'm curious, can I?" His fingers traced over it, causing shivers to run down her spine. He continued until he reached the back of the maroon dress she was wearing. Axel pulled his hand away and met her slate eyes with his green ones.

She glared at him before saying, "You can."

"You know, why do you always do this? You are the most depressing person I've ever met. That's the kind of personality causes people to stay away."

"Good then." She said as she walked away from him. "Leave me alone."

Axel grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. "I would leave you alone but I don't think you want to be."

Alana narrowed her slate eyes at him. "I doubt you know anything about—!"

Axel cut her off when he pressed his lips against hers. His hands released her shoulders and his arms wrapped around Alana instead. There was no struggle, no resistance. He was a little surprised by it. When he felt that she would shut up, he slowly pulled his face away from hers. "If you didn't mind being lonely, you wouldn't let me hold you like this."

Alana didn't say anything; she just rested her head on his chest. As much as she wanted to move away from Axel, as much as she wanted to punch him in the gut for that kiss, she found that she couldn't. _I can't believe this. I thought the point of having barriers around my heart was to keep these emotions locked away. And yet I . . . _Her arms slipped themselves around his neck and her eyes closed. _I'm allowing myself to get closer to him every day and I hate that. I really hate that._

A portal appeared and Demyx stumbled out of it. "Sorry, Alana. I nearly ran out with your . . . dinner?" He stared at Axel and Alana. Although they were still holding one another, their eyes were already on him. "Did I interrupt something?"

Alana pulled herself away from Axel and started to gather her pajamas. "Just leave it on the dresser, Demyx. I need to go take a bath." She pushed her way passed Axel and walked out of the room. She found that her heart was pounding fast. _I will never allow myself to do that again. Never. _

* * *

"My theories?" Zexion questioned the blonde. He was in the library with her and Lexaeus, who stood behind him.

Larxene winked and grinned. "You can't be that bad, Zexie. I mean if Marluxia hangs out with you---"

Zexion cut her off. "I don't have to share anything."

"But Zexie—!"

Zexion sighed. "Members trying to have advantages over other members—I think it's deplorable."

Larxene narrowed her blue eyes, the smirk still on her face. She leaned in closer. "Well, you have an advantage over us. I know that Vexen isn't telling us everything. I want to know what he's been sharing with you and what you've concluded about Alana."

Zexion closed his eyes and thought about it. Then they opened and focused on her. "Vexen wants to conduct another experiment on her soon. He plans on splitting her into a Nobody and a Heartless."

Larxene raised her eyebrows. This was new; Vexen had not mentioned this to them. Marluxia would be pleased to hear about it. "You got my full attention now, Zexie."

**A/N: I hope this chapter wasn't boring. I probably have to fix up some parts. Also, I kind of want to expand on Sai****x's parts in the story. Hopefully I'll be able to do that in future chapters. Anyway Rai Takaya, Esinahs, Noyesgirl, UnderAgeThinker, SilverGhostKitsune, Bluebunny2006, and Diamonde: thanks for the reviews. **


	8. Chapter 8: The Escape, Part 1

**A/N: This chapter, I decided it was time to delve into Alana's past a bit. There's two flashbacks in this chapter, but only one concerns Alana's past. I only added them because 1) I felt the need to extend this chapter and 2) I didn't want to give too much away in one go. Yeah, so don't hate me.**

**:CHAPTER 8:**

**The Escape, Part 1**

Two weeks had passed. Alana felt sort of anxious because the time of the escape was drawing near. However, she was also impatient because Axel wasn't in the castle. He had went on some sort of mission with Demyx and Larxene. The only one left to keep her company was Roxas. He had been watching today's experiment in Axel's place. Now that it was over, they stated to walk around the halls without communication. She didn't know what to say to the kid.

"Um," Roxas started, trying to think of a topic. It was slightly awkward with the complete silence. If Axel was there, he would have been the bridge between them. He would have been the one to say something.

"Roxas," Alana suddenly said. He looked at her. "Is it tonight or tomorrow?" She didn't bother being specific. One look at his face assured her that they were on the same page.

"Tonight," Roxas answered. "Axel said it would be better since there's less people around."

"Oh." That was the end of one conversation.

Roxas racked his brain for something worth mentioning. "Um, Demyx told me something interesting."

"What?"

"He said that he saw you and Axel making out."

" . . . He's exaggerating. I would never . . ." Her voice trailed off as she remembered the way Axel kissed her two weeks ago. As hard as she tried to stop it, a blush still crept across her face. She turned away from Roxas so he couldn't see. "I don't know why you're so curious. How would you feel if I asked you such questions?"

"Axel does it all the time."

"Axel does a lot of things. Like the first day he met me and took me here."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "What did he do?"

It came back in a rush—the water, the taunting, the suggestive positions. Alana folded her arms as she thought of an answer. " . . . Certain things I'll never speak of."

Roxas looked at the ground. "Okay . . . just don't go into the details. I'm certain I don't want to know."

"No, Roxas. It's not what you're thinking. I would never let Axel do that with me. I'm not even attracted to him. I don't think he's cute. I just find him annoying and a pest and a pervert." Alana wondered how much of that was actually true. Considering the fact they did kiss and hug each other, Alana prayed that those times were accidents. She sighed. _I love his green eyes though, _she thought. _And his muscles . . . Damn. I'm beginning to think like some boy-crazed girl. I never really thought about boys before. I never_ kissed _a boy until I got here. This is all his fault._

* * *

Vexen was in his lab. Marluxia and Larxene were with him. They were waiting to see his report on the subject. Vexen came back from a file cabinet with a folder. He placed it on the table.

Marluxia went through it. In it was a horrible drawing, a list of cards, and fitness records. "I don't see the significance of any of this."

"On the surface, that is what it appears." Vexen picked up the list. "We told her to choose thirteen cards out of the pile. Eleven out of the thirteen were hearts."

"So?" Larxene said.

He picked up the fitness records. "Her times during the lap runs were beyond the average human."

"That just means she's in good shape."

"And the drawings---"

Marluxia snatched the papers from Vexen. "This is all you have to show for four weeks?"

Vexen gritted his teeth. He hated when the neophytes talked down to him. They had no respect for the older members, the ones who have been in the Organization longer. If he could, he would have them all eradicated. "I asked you to examine the girl with Naminé. What did you find out?"

Marluxia smirked. "Unlike you, I have things worth mentioning. For instance, the girl has barriers around her heart that Naminé had trouble breaking through and therefore she could only access recent memories. That was the case until two weeks ago."

Vexen narrowed his eyes. "You mean at least one of them broke."

"Exactly."

Larxene chuckled. "It's because of Axel."

"What do you mean?" Vexen asked.

"Do I have to explain it to you, Vexie?"

"Don't call me that!"

"Larxene," Marluxia said and the blonde looked at him. "Are you saying she's letting her guard down?"

"Around Axel definitely," Larxene smirked. "He flirts with her and it's obvious she adores the attention nonetheless the gratifying----"

"What memories did Naminé uncover from the girl?" Vexen asked Marluxia, interrupting Larxene. He couldn't care who did what with who. He couldn't care if Xemnas had a thing about butterflies. He just wanted the facts for his experiments. Nothing else mattered.

Marluxia folded his arms and glanced at the corner of the room. There was Naminé quietly sitting on a chair, her head hanging low and her blue eyes on the ground. "She can tell you all you need to know."

* * *

-FLASHBACK-

A fourteen-year-old Alana sat at the window sill. She was looking outside and watching the kids play in the rain. She sighed and touched the window for the sake of touching it. It was cold. She pulled her hand away and saw her fingerprints on the glass. Quickly, she wiped the smudge away with a long sleeve.

"Alana, you're quiet today."

The girl looked back at the old man sitting on a chair. His cane laid against the arm of the chair while he read a book. He must be in his sixties, she thought.

"I'm always this quiet, Master Dimitri."

"When you first came here, you were happier."

"Things have changed now."

"Back when I was four, I met a different you. That you was joyful and always smiled."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't remember. But then again, you were in a different form. This is part of my theory I have developed over the years."

Alana raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I believe that after a certain amount of time passes, a new maiden is sent to a random world. The one I met. She was like you—no parents, no memories of where she came from, nothing. Of course she went by a different name: Thorn."

"Thorn. . . It's weird but I kind of like it."

"That was the only time I saw but I knew she was different. Before I could find out how, she disappeared. I got older and grew up to be a scientist. I studied Kingdom Hearts with a man by the name of Ansem. However our research led us to different paths. He continued studying the heart. I went on to study the Maiden of Kingdom Hearts."

Alana went back to looking outside. "Why are you telling me this?"

"So you can be aware of what the future might hold."

The rain had slowed down to a drizzle and the first few rays of sun broke thorough the clouds. There wasn't a rainbow. If there had been, it would be a little too perfect. ". . . I think I understand. You're saying that I'll disappear, right?"

-END FLASHBACK-

Alana opened her slate eyes and welcomed the darkness of the room. She must have been sleeping for at least an hour. She sat up on the bed and looked around, seeing that she was alone. _Fade out of existence . . . what a weird thought to be thinking now. _

Alana got off the bed and picked up her original outfit: the white tank top, the large gray cargo pants, and her black choker necklace. She quickly undressed and put on her old clothes. Larxene had washed them a week ago but they still had that sweet laundry detergent scent. As she started to lace up her boots, a portal appeared and Axel stepped through.

"You have everything that you want?" Axel asked.

"The cube," she said. "I want it."

"You might as well forget about it. It's cracked, remember?"

"Right." Alana stood up and walked toward Axel. "Where are Demyx and Roxas?"

"At checkpoints," he responded. His emerald eyes examined her. It had been a long time since she had wore that outfit. He closed the portal and opened a new one. He stuck his hand out toward her. "Ready?"

The girl looked at it before taking it and nodding. He led her through the portal. When they got out of the it, Axel and Alana were on the Altar of Naught. "I figured you can see it before we go." He was referring to Kingdom Hearts.

Alana studied it, wondering how it was inside and if it had a world of its own. She felt Axel squeeze her hand and she looked at him. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Let's go. Demyx is suppose to be nearby." Axel turned around and halted. "Marluxia," he muttered. Alana looked back and saw the Graceful Assassin. He was dragging a cloaked body with him.

Marluxia threw it forward and Axel saw it was Demyx. Marluxia smirked. "An interesting thing happened. I ran into him and he tried to fight me."

"I guess there's no point in lying now," Axel said.

A portal opened behind Axel and Alana without them noticing. A gloved hand reached out and grabbed Alana's arm. Before Axel could do anything, Alana was pulled through and the portal disappeared. Axel swirled around and glared at Marluxia.

The Graceful Assassin feigned obliviousness. "Even you would agree that all traitors should be eliminated."

* * *

The moment Alana was out of the portal, she was thrown into a wall. She looked up and saw Larxene. Then she noticed the lab and Vexen in the background. _Axel must be fighting Marluxia right now, _she thought. Alana forced herself to stand and her staff appeared in her hands.

Larxene smirked and her blue eyes lit up. "You going to fight me? You're weak, Alana. You don't even have any strength. It was very nice of Axel to try to get you out of here though. Too bad it didn't work. I'll say that Marluxia's probably finishing him off right now."

"Axel said he got a plan and that it won't backfire. So I'll put all my trust and faith in the little stupid redhead."

The Savage Nymph sadistically grinned. "Well, aren't you a brave soul?"

"Larxene," Vexen spoke. "Don't kill her. There's use for her yet."

Larxene nodded. "Right, the path to the innermost depths of Kingdom Hearts."

* * *

-FLASHBACK-

"I still don't see why you're going to help me."

Axel looked at her. She was looking straight ahead of her, licking her red popsicle. Demyx had gotten them and had given them out to whoever wanted. Surprisingly, everyone took one, including Xemnas. There was even an extra one for Alana to have.

Finally, she looked at him, her slate eyes meeting his green ones. "Aren't you going to tell me why?"

"I told you before. I like you more than I thought. And then you said you feel the same about me."

" . . . When you say it, it sounds like I have feelings for you."

Axel laughed. "You don't hate me, do you?"

"I don't know."

"You better know soon since we might spend a lot of time together in the near future."

-END FLASHBACK-

* * *

At the Altar of Naught, Axel's fight wasn't done. Axel wished it was so he could go find Alana. He was slightly worried about her.

"Axel," Marluxia said, his voice carrying a mocking tone, "You seem a little distracted. Don't worry. Larxene is taking good care of the girl."

"I don't have time for this," Axel muttered. A fire wall came around the two and Axel smirked. This was his territory and he doubted that a stupid plant could stop him. His chakram caught on fire and Axel threw them at Marluxia.

Marluxia held his scythe in front of him and blocked the attack. He charged and swung the scythe at Axel. The redhead jumped over it and into the firewall. Marluxia looked around him, trying to see where Axel was. He heard fire roaring behind him and looked back. Axel was sliding toward him, leaving a trail of fire behind. Marluxia moved out of the way. Axel stopped moving, sent a chakram at Marluxia who dodged it. The chakram came back to Axel as if it was a yo-yo.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" Marluxia asked.

Axel walked toward him, twirling one of chakram. "Don't worry, I'm going to put you out of your misery in a minute." _If I have a minute, _Axel thought as his mind retreated to Alana. _I wonder how she's doing by herself against Larxene. _During mid thought, the Graceful Assassin attacked and Axel jumped back into the fire wall.

Marluxia narrowed his eyes as he looked around him. He then glanced up and saw Axel in the air. He jumped back a few feet and Axel hit the ground with his chakram. The ground turned into something that reminded Marluxia of a volcano. _My vines are useless here. They'd just burn up._

"What's wrong Marluxia?" Axel grinned. "You just realized that you're no match for me?"

Marluxia gritted his teeth and raised his arm up. In a spiral pattern, razor-sharp flower petals flew around the area. Those that hit the fire wall, which was most of them, went up in flames. However, some hit Axel. They slit his cheek, his cloak, whatever they managed to touch was cut. The floral attack stopped and the volcanic ground disappeared.

* * *

Zexion's blue eyes opened in the dark and he sat up. Instincts were telling him something was wrong. He didn't know why he knew that. He hoped that nothing weird was going on. However, curiosity got the better of him and he got out of bed. He didn't have a shirt on so he put his cloak on and walked out into the hallway.

He smelled the air. Roxas' scent was gone while several certain people seemed fainter than they should be. Suddenly Lexaeus came running down the hallway. "Zexion, Marluxia and Larxene are not in their rooms!"

"Keep you voice down," Zexion said, listening incase someone's door opened. When he heard nothing, he continued to talk in a low voice. "If they're not in their rooms, something must be happening. Demyx's, Axel's, and Marluxia's scents are coming from the same place. Vexen's, Larxene's, and the girl's are coming from the opposite end of the castle. Roxas' scent is gone."

"Roxas is dead?"

Zexion shrugged and walked passed the Silent Hero. "I don't know. But I'm curious about what the others are doing."

* * *

Roxas was in the dark city waiting for Alana and Axel. Axel had told him that Demyx would be at the first checkpoint near the Altar of Naught; he would be the second checkpoint in the city. That way, incase the two were being followed, he and Demyx could fend them off. However, now he wondered if they even reached Demyx. It had been over thirty minutes but no sign of Axel yet.

Roxas looked up and felt a drop of water on his face. He saw the drizzle coming down. "Now it's about to rain." He heard footsteps and he looked ahead of him. He saw a figure moving toward him in the dark. His keyblades came to his hand. "Who's there?" He asked. The figure came out into the light and Roxas relaxed. "Naminé? What are you doing here?"

Naminé held herself and looked at the ground. "I . . ."

"Aren't you suppose to be in the castle?"

"I escaped. I have to tell you what's going on, Roxas."

His eyebrows furrowed when he heard the urgency in her voice. "Do you know something about Axel or Alana or Demyx?"

Naminé nodded and she stared at the ground. "Right now, Alana's fighting Larxene and Marluxia is fighting Axel. Demyx is knocked out." She wrapped her arms around her body tighter. The rain and the light wind were starting to make her feel cold.

Roxas saw that Naminé was shivering in the rain and took off his cloak. He handed it to her and after a moment, she took it. "Thank you," she said.

"No problem . . ." _This is bad, _he thought. _Axel could be in trouble now. Marluxia and him are almost evenly matched. If Larxene comes into the fight, than Axel might be destroyed. _

Naminé wrapped the cloak around her, smelling his scent. " . . . I can't really do much to help you, Roxas, but if you want, I can bring you to Alana."

Roxas nodded and Naminé made the necessary portal. She walked into it and he followed.

**A/N: That's it for now. Part two will be up very soon. Later.**


	9. Chapter 9: The Escape, Part 2

**A/N: Hello. It's me again, bringing part 2 this time. I decided to post two chapters yet again. Why? It's just so happened that I had two chapters completed when I went to add this one. Sorry, if there's any mistakes. Anyway, enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 9**

**:The Escape, Part 2:**

-FLASHBACK-

"Master Dimitri," Alana said.

He looked at the stairs and saw his apprentice sitting there. She was suppose to be sleeping. Tomorrow, he was going to train her and improve her fighting skills. They were going to start extremely early and he had told her to go to bed two hours ago. Yet she was up and wide awake. "Did you have a nightmare?" He asked her.

Alana shook her head. "I'm fifteen. Nightmares are for little kids. I just have a question."

"What is it?"

Alana stood and walked down the rest of the stairs, her left hand trailing down the railing. She hopped over the last step and landed silently. Then she came to the living room area and sat next to the fire. "You told me that I was to lock my emotions away."

"You misunderstood. I said that you need barriers around you heart to protect you from the Heartless. The first barrier will lock away your fear. The second one will lock away your love. The third one happiness, the fourth one pain, the fifth one anxiety, and the six one anger."

Alana focused on the intensity of the flames as she spoke. "So I'll end up being some unemotional person?"

"It's best to be unemotional. You can't feel anything. There's no anxiety, no worry—it's only you and yourself. This will help you when you come in contact with Heartless. They would have trouble stealing your heart. Because if they do succeed in doing so, the outcome could be devastating."

-END FLASHBACK-

Alana felt the ice creeping up her legs. Somehow, Vexen, the Chilly Academic, had decided to get involved. Probably because he realized that her strength had returned and it was taking too long to bring her down. Alana tried to break free but it had already engulfed her arms. She gasped when the ice reached her neck.

Larxene looked back at Vexen, slightly infuriated. "I could've handled her," she muttered. She clutched her side, surprised that blood was trickling between her fingers and under her palm.

"If that was the case, you wouldn't have been overpowered." Before Vexen had intervened, Larxene had been fighting Alana, who was surprisingly holding her own. Pretty soon, Larxene had stopped using her throwing knives and started to use lightning instead. However, Alana had dodged the bolts and gave her direct blow to her side with her staff's blade. Vexen eyed the Savage Nymph, seeing the result.

The ice shattered and Alana fell onto the floor in a shivering heap. She looked up at Vexen with despised in her eyes. "Bastard," she said. She pushed herself off the ground and onto her feet. _I should have known it wouldn't be one-on-one. _

Vexen summoned his large, blue shield. Alana ran forward and struck at him with her staff. Vexen blocked the frontal attack with ease. Alana tried again and he blocked once more. The whole process was becoming frustrating. All her frontal attacks were being deflected and she couldn't get a hit in.

She attack the shield again before jumping over his head. She attacked while his back was facing her. But her attacked was parried with an icicle popped out the ground. Another came directly under her and she was forced to move back. More came out after her and soon she backed herself into a corner. Vexen smirked. Icicles shot up at an angle and made a containment cell with the wall.

The door to the lab opened and Zexion walked in. His blue eyes darted to the icicles against the wall. He knew that the girl was on the other side, trapped like a mouse. "What's going on?" He asked.

Larxene finally got off the ground and leaned against a table. She was still bleeding. "Axel tried to escape with our prize. Thanks to Marluxia, we delayed them and got her back."

Zexion glanced over his shoulder and said, "You heard that, Xigbar?"

Number Two walked into the room. "Who would have thought one of the older members would try to turn against us? Then again," he added, shrugging his shoulders. "Traitors must be eliminated."

_Damn it, _Alana thought as she pounded the icicles. _If only there was a way out, I could help Axel. _She allowed her staff to disappear----she doubted it was any use to her now----and slid against the wall till she was on the floor. _They might actually destroy him and that makes me kind of sad. Axel . . . it's best if you escape without me. They wouldn't harm me. They'll let me live a bit longer till my purpose is gone. But you---_

"Naminé!" Larxene cried, catching Alana's attention. Alana looked up and saw the blonde girl in her white dress. Her blue eyes were darting across the room until they landed on the icicles.

"Oh no!" Naminé said in a fake shocked voice. "How did Alana end up in the far right corner of the lab?!"

"What are you doing out of your room?" Larxene asked. "You're helping Axel, too? I already know about Demyx and without a doubt, Roxas are involved. So don't tell me that you're part of their plan." Naminé shook her head and glanced at the icicles.

Alana raised an eyebrow when a portal appeared next to her. Roxas stuck his head out and waved for her to come. Alana looked at Naminé and then at Roxas. She must have told him where to find her. Just now. When she said that line in that ridiculously horrendous acting voice.

She heard Zexion said, "Roxas' scent is in the room . . . Break the icicles now! He's trying to rescue her."

Alana went through the portal without hesitation. By the time Vexen got rid of the ice wall, no one was there.

* * *

Axel finally felt the effects of fatigue while Marluxia looked like he had never lifted a finger. Axel thought about it and realized that he had been exerting himself the most. He felt like an idiot for doing so. He saw the flames around him dying out and cursed under his breath as he eyed the pink floral lasers floating around.

Marluxia smirked as he walked up to Axel. "This is it," he said. "Your demise."

Axel held his chakram away from his body. "Not yet." With each word, he threw his chakram at Marluxia. He missed and they came back to him. Marluxia charged at Axel with his scythe raised in the air. Axel ran forward and the lasers fired. He stopped short and leaned back when Marluxia swiped at him. Axel's chakram caught on fire and he threw them like they were yo-yos. Marluxia jumped back, refusing to be injured.

"I thought you said you're going to kill me!" Axel as he jumped in the air and came back down. His chakram hit the ground, creating another firewall. He stood up and glanced at the flames he had encased them in. _I doubt they'll last until the end of the battle. _

"Again with the flames, Axel? You're starting to bore me!" Marluxia said, raising his hand up and releasing an attack of deadly flower petals.

Axel braced himself, feeling the petals cutting through the cloak and making tiny cuts on his arms. "Look who's talking!" When the attack stopped, his brought his arms away from his face. He moved toward him and Marluxia did the same. They moved with lightning speed and passed each other. Neither of them moved for a second. Marluxia remained low to the ground, his scythe still extended outward. Axel held his chakram away from his body.

Marluxia looked back out the corner of his eye. "What's wrong Axel? You can't move?"

Axel saw the blood seeping through his cloak and allowed one of his weapons to disappear. He touched the wound and saw too much of the red fluid on his hand. He glanced back at the Graceful Assassin. He was ready for the last attack.

Marluxia smirked. "You were right, Axel. Now it's your demise."

Before he could kill Axel, a blast of bubbles hit him off the platform and out of sight. The redhead glanced at his right and saw Demyx. The Melodious Nocturne was holding his sitar with one hand and rubbing his head with the other.

"I have a killer headache," he said to himself. His attention switched to Axel. "So, how long have I been out for? And how did that happen to you? And where's Alana?"

"I have no clue," Axel muttered. "If I knew where to look, I'd go find her."

"She could be with Larxene," Demyx said.

"Do you know where Larxene is?"

"I got _no _freakin' idea."

A dark hole appeared behind Demyx and he backed away. "Oh, not another enemy. I thought Marluxia was bad enough! If it's that crazy bitch Larxene, I'm running away!"

"That's no surprise," Axel muttered. "Considering the countless times you ran away from battle." Still gripping his wound, he prepared himself to through his chakram. Whatever Organization member stepped through that portal, he would try to kill them.

Someone stepped through and Axel relaxed. It was Alana. He met her slate eyes and he felt as close to happy as he could come. She was fine, she was alive, she was back with him. Before he could ask what had happened to her, Demyx grabbed the girl and embraced her.

"You're alright!" He exclaimed. He picked her up and spun her around out of his hyper excitement. "See, Axel, nothing to worry about! She's fine!" He placed the girl back on the ground and held her by the shoulders. "So, how did you do that? Only a member of the Organization could have . . ." His voice trailed off when he saw another person coming out of the portal: Roxas. It closed behind the fifteen-year-old immediately.

Roxas had a serious expression on his face, probably because their mission wasn't completed yet. "Hey Axel, Demyx. I see you two are fine . . ." He glanced at Axel's injury. "For the most part."

"Don't worry about it," Axel said, glancing down at it himself then meeting Alana's inquisitive eyes. "It's not as bad as it looks."

They heard a rumbling sound and saw a giant Nobody, the symbol on its head. To Alana, it resembled the armor that knights wore in her childhood stories. There was some key differences though. Instead of having hands, it had giant scythes in its place. There was a giant flower coming out from the top of the helmet. Marluxia stood in front of the flower.

"I was hoping he would be dead," Demyx said, a slight whiny tone coming into his voice.

Roxas had keyblades out already. He looked back at Alana and Axel. "I guess you two should be going now."

Axel nodded and made a portal. "Come on, Alana." Although those were his words, he didn't want to leave the others right away.

Alana didn't stir yet. She was looking at Demyx and Roxas, anxiety written on her face. "We can't just let you stay here. They'll---"

Roxas closed his blue eyes before opening them and glancing back at her. He had a small smile on his face. "We'll see you two soon."

Alana looked at him hopelessly. ". . . Right."

Axel grabbed Alana's arm and led her to the portal. "Later, Roxas., Demyx," he called over his shoulder. Alana allowed Axel to pull her into the portal and waved goodbye to the two blondes. She realized that she would miss those two dearly.

"No!" The armor nobody came after them but Demyx strummed his guitar. A giant geyser, knocked the thing and derailed it from its path. Marluxia saw when the portal disappeared and let out a scream of anger.

At that moment, seven portals appeared and seven members walked out of them. Vexen, Xaldin, Xigbar, Lexaeus, Luxord, Zexion, and Saix were all there. The only two that were absent was Larxene, because of her injury, and Xemnas, for unknown reasons.

Roxas and Demyx were back-to-back, ready to defend themselves. Both were nervous that they were not going to get out of this one easy. The only words that were in their heads kept repeating themselves. _Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit._

"Go down fighting?" Demyx asked, grinning from nervousness.

Despite the grin on his face, Roxas furrowed his eyebrows. "Is there really any other choice?"

* * *

The moment Alana stepped out of the portal, she felt the coldness of the wind hit her. They were in a forest. All the trees were bare except for the tall evergreens around them. They were all covered in snow and so was the ground. There were a few flurries falling around them. In front of them stood a small cabin.

"Where are we?" Alana asked. She looked at Axel.

"We're . . ." Slowly but surely, he collapsed into the snow.

"Axel!"

**A/N: Thanks to UnderAgeThinker and SilverGhostKitsune for reviewing last time. Besides that important note, feel free to move on to the next chapter.** **Warning about the next one: It's been a while since I wrote fluffy/romantic moments. Sorry if it sucks. **


	10. Chapter 10: Alone

**CHAPTER 10**

**:Alone:**

Axel opened his eyes and sat up, finding a blanket around him. He heard the crackling of a fire and glanced to his left. He saw that there was fire set up in a fireplace. It was then that he realized that he was inside a small cabin. He looked around and spotted Alana sleeping while she sat up against the wall.

He stood up, noticing the makeshift bandages on him, and walked over to her. He stooped down beside her and stared at her face. "So vulnerable," he muttered before pecking her on the lips. Then he said, "Alana, want to wake up now?"

After about thirty seconds, Alana stirred and saw Axel sitting in front of her. "You're awake," she said. "I was hoping you wouldn't be for a while. I didn't want to hear your voice yet."

"You know," Axel said in a mocking voice, "I don't think I can handle much verbal abuse from you."

Alana rolled her eyes and looked the other way. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw when he sat down next to her and took off the blanket. Then he awkwardly wrapped it around the both of them. "What are you doing now?" She asked, suddenly wondering why she always came off as ungrateful.

"I'm sharing it with you," he explained like it was the most obvious answer in the world. He then wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to his body.

"Why do you keep doing this to me?" She asked in a monotone voice, her slate eyes meeting his green ones.

He didn't answer right away; he was trying to decipher the meaning in her eyes. However it was proving to be difficult. Axel finally responded. "What do you mean?"

" . . . Never mind. I'll just go back to sleep." She closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest. She felt his arm held her a bit tighter and she snuggled closer, slightly embarrassed that she did so. _If he touches me in any funny way, _she thought to herself. _I'll beat the crap out of him. _Even that thought seemed out of the question to her. She felt that she wouldn't go that far. Maybe slap him but beating the crap out of him? It seemed impossible to do now.

Axel heard her sigh and took it as one of content. "Alana?"

"Hm?"

Without warning, he pushed her onto the floor and he was on top of her. Alana blushed during her moment of shock as she stared into his emerald eyes. Her heart pounded against her chest when she saw a desirous look in them.

"Alana," Axel started, leaning closer to her face, one hand beside her head. "How much do you trust me?"

* * *

In the World that Never Was, Roxas flinched as he heard Demyx singing another song. Demyx had been singing for the last two hours in the cell across Roxas'. Demyx would have strummed his guitar but his hands were tied behind his back. Two be more exact, both members had their hands tied behind their backs. It was the only way to ensure that neither of them can attack.

Some time ago, on the Altar of Naught, Demyx and Roxas had been outnumbered. Nonetheless, they both had tried to fight off the other members. The Melodious Nocturne and the Key of Destiny had fallen after twenty minutes, both sustaining major injuries. When they came to, they had found themselves bound and bandaged.

Demyx's song went something like: "Oh, why me, how come it's always me, why do this always happen to---"

"Demyx," Roxas said, interrupting the Melodious Nocturne, "Don't you want to go to sleep?"

"Not yet," Demyx answered. "I'm think I'm close to making my greatest hit ever."

"Have you ever thought that you're not as close as you think you are?"

"What do you mean?"

Roxas sighed and rested his head on the wall. "Forget it . . . So," Roxas started again. "What do you think they're going to do to us?"

Demyx studied the ground. "Probably turn us into dusks and I really don't want to be one. I mean, how can I learn how to love if I'm one of those stupid things?"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Well . . ." His voice trailed off as he frowned. Suddenly he said, "I think someone's coming down the hallway."

Now that Roxas listened carefully he heard footsteps echoing down the hallway. They were getting louder each second. One of the people came in view. It was Naminé.

Roxas immediately sat up straight because she was here. However, he became disgusted when he realized that she was with Marluxia and Xigbar. He narrowed his blue eues at the two before looking at Naminé. She appeared to be sad and miserable again. He wondered what Marluxia had done this time to the poor girl.

"Hello, Roxas," Naminé said in a tiny voice once she was on the other side of the bars.

"Hi Naminé," Demyx yelled from behind. The girl turned around and gave him a little smile.

Marluxia gripped Naminé's shoulder firmly causing her to 'eep'. "Remember why we came here." Naminé glanced at the ground, willing to look anywhere but Roxas right now.

Marluxia smirked at the bounded blonde in the cell. "We need your help, Roxas."

"I'm not helping you," he muttered.

"I don't think you have much of a choice. If you don't help, we'll torture Naminé to death." Roxas glowered at him and Marluxia smirked.

Xigbar laughed and pointed at Roxas' face. "I love that 'I'll beat the shit out of you first before you can do anything' glare of yours. It's classic!" After awhile when he realized only his laughter rang in the hallways, he calmed down and regained his composure. "Now listen, traitor. You're going to do what we want because you won't have a choice in the matter. Got that, brat?"

"I'm not doing anything for you!"

Xigbar looked slight taken back by that and had a look of surprise on his face. While he stood there in shock, Marluxia grabbed Naminé by the hair and his pink scythe appeared in his free hand. "I'll cut her head off now if you don't agree to our terms?"

"Isn't that kind of desperate?" Demyx asked. They all looked at him, remembering he was there as well.

Xigbar smirked. "We just want our 'best bud' Roxas to try out Vexen's 'keyblade' on that girl Alana. That is, once you tell us where she is first."

Marluxia turned his attention back on Roxas, still gripping Naminé's hair. "So, what's your decision, Number 13? Axel's girlfriend or this girl's life?"

* * *

Alana didn't know what to say to his question. She felt uncomfortable in this position and found that she couldn't move. ". . . Enough to trust you with my safety." Somehow, the word 'life' seemed too extreme.

Axel didn't respond to that. Instead, he gently placed his lips on top of hers and abruptly nipped her bottom lip. Her lips parted when she gasped at the pain and he slid his tongue into her mouth, taking full advantage of the opportunity. Soon he abandoned her mouth and planted kisses on her neck.

"What are you doing, Axel?" She asked as if it was not obvious. Her voice had came out in a whisper. However, since Axel was so close to her, he heard what she had said.

". . . I figured, since we're alone, we can focus more on us. But, now that I think about it . . . " He stopped and got off the girl. "It was kind of stupid of me," he finished.

"I didn't say it was stupid," Alana muttered as she sat up and Axel looked at her in surprise. Quickly, she averted her gaze to a dusty corner in the cabin. "I meant that it was too 'rash' . . . That's not a good word to describe it." What word could describe the thing that caused her heart to beat rapidly against her chest? She doubted one existed. She was feeling tense, nervous, and embarrassed all simultaneously. In the mist of her thoughts, a hand caressed her cheek and she found herself looking at Axel. "What is it?" She asked, sounding as if it wasn't effecting her.

Axel looked away from her with a smile that showed his slight annoyance at her attitude. "Can you at least act curious about these things?"

"What things?"

He tried to come up with an answer. ". . . Sex."

". . ." Her parents had never bothered teaching her about it. Her master had decided it was best for her not to dwell on such 'insignificant, improper behaviors'. So hearing it said out in the open made that tense feeling return again. "You're being too forward for your own good."

His smiling green eyes looked at her from the side. "You're sure about that?" All the teasing was revealed by the tone of his voice.

She pulled away from his hand and stood. Immediately, she walked over to the fire and sat next to it. Since she was no longer willing to share the blanket, she decided that staying close to the fire was the next thing. "Go to sleep. Allow your injuries to heal or something."

". . . I, um, wanted to talk to you about tomorrow's plan."

". . . Go ahead. Tell me about it."

Axel sighed out of relief, glad that she hadn't started to bitch about something else. "I wanted to go to Sunsetville. There, you can never see the sun rise but you can always see the sun set."

". . . I don't believe it."

He snorted. "People wouldn't believe that a person could be born of Kingdom Hearts." Suddenly, he yawned and lied down on the floor with the blanket. "Maybe that's why I feel like I _can_ feel when I'm around you."

Later that night, Axel was sleeping. However Alana was still awake as she sat in front of the fire. On her mind was their conversation. She looked back at him, seeing that he was in a peaceful dream. If Nobodies could dream. Quietly she crawled over to him, hoping not to wake him up.

_Every time we try to communicate . . ._

_. . . I come off in a way I don't want to._

_And yet . . ._

Alana was sitting next to him now and studied his peaceful face. She realized that she wouldn't see his emerald eyes until morning. She leaned closer to his face, her eyes slowly closing shut.

_You insist on trying to get through to me. _

_You may be the Nobody but . . ._

_. . . I'm the heartless one, Axel. _

_For never considering what you or anyone else might feel._

_You always smile and laugh yet I never do. _

_So how can I say that you don't have a heart so many times when . . ._

Alana opened her eyes and discovered that she less that an inch from his face. Immediately, she pulled away and went back to her fire. Then she lied down on the floor, several feet between the her and him. She turned and faced his direction. She smiled a little, a smile that Axel would never see, and closed her slate eyes. _Maybe I am a little curious. About how someone like you can love someone like me._

**A/N:** **Wow. I haven't typed a short chapter in a long time. Come to think about it, Alana doesn't smile much. I believe she never did smile in previous chapters. The barrier thing with Alana's heart: they broke down in this chapter. Well most of them did (Anger usually shows anyway since it's the outermost barrier). She stopped at happiness. Those barriers will play an important part a couple of chapters from now. If you don't get the purpose of them, let me know. I'll try to explain it as concisely as possible.** **Also, there will be a timeskip for next chapter. In addition to that, Alana will meet another KH character (it's only a cameo appearance though). Till later.**


	11. Chapter 11: In Sunsetville

**A/N: Two chapters this time. In this one, I wrote some half-lemon. Half-lemon as in "they didn't go far but did something pretty damn close to it" lemon. Even so, those who are underage----don't read it. I'm even letting you know that it begins with the line "He started to unbutton her pajama shirt . . ." and this continues on for three small paragraphs. And if you just happened to 'accidently' read, I tried to keep it as clean as possible. For those who would read it, sorry if it sucks. I'm not much of lemon writer anyway. Hopefully, the rest of this chapter will make up for it. Sorry that it's a long one though. A new KH character appears and an old one returns. Just to let you know. Okay, that's enough rambling for me.**

**CHAPTER 11**

**:In Sunsetville:**

_Two weeks later . . ._

"Here's your change!" The shop owner said cheerfully as he placed the coins into Alana's hand. Alana quickly placed them into her pocket and picked up the bag. Then she walked off. "Have a nice day!" The man called out to her.

She walked down the road filled with shops, stands, and people. It was normally crowded in the afternoon and she had been to this part several times. However, she still found it aggravating with the noise level and crowds. After pushing pass and walking around them, she finally reached the hotel that she and Axel were staying at it. Alana walked into the extravagantly decorated, red lobby and headed for the stairs. Luckily they were on the second floor. Their room was two doors on the right. When she stopped in front of the door, she placed down the bag. Then she started searching for the keycard. Before she could find it, the door opened.

"You were right," Axel said in the doorway. "That didn't take long." It was strange seeing him out of the black coat. Instead, he wore a black shirt and jeans. Somehow, it looked good on him. He moved aside and allowed Alana to come in. "So what's in the bag?"

"Things," she muttered as she reached in and pulled out a bag of potato chips. "Here," she said when she tossed it at him. He caught it. "It's yours. In case you were hungry."

"Thanks," he said as he opened the bag.

"Just to remind you, the festival is tonight. So I didn't want you to spoil your appetite since there will be lots of things to eat outside." She looked at Axel and saw that the redhead was already staring at her. She turned away, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Don't you want to look out the window?"

"I think I like looking at you better."

" . . . Don't make me gag," she muttered and looked at him. He had small potato chip crumbs around his mouth and she almost smiled at how cute he looked. Before she could, she remember something that was in the bag. She pulled out a blue dress and threw it on the bed that they took turns sleeping in.

"I thought you didn't like dresses."

"It was the cheapest thing that I could buy. Most of the money I earned is for the room's rent." Ever since their arrival, her and Axel had been doing odd jobs around the town to earn money. They used most of the money to pay the hotel. The rest went to whatever else they wanted.

Without a word, Alana picked up the dress and headed to the bathroom to get ready. Axel sighed when he was alone in the room and jumped on the bed. He thought about their last couple of weeks alone with one another. To him, there seemed to be some one-sided sexual tension. Sleeping in the same room, having only one bed—things were sort of tempting. He wondered if Alana felt something as well. If she did, then maybe . . .

His thoughts trailed off as he heard the bathroom door open. Alana came out wearing the blue dress. It was strapless and it was knee-length. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail.

"You look beautiful," he said without thinking about it.

Alana blushed as she stood there. This time she didn't think of hiding it. "You think so?" She asked.

He nodded. "But I don't see why you're so dressed up."

She folded her arms and sucked her teeth. He raised his eyebrows at her reaction. She tossed him a glare before she said, "Why don't you get ready instead of criticizing me about what I'm wearing?" _That came out wrong, _she thought to herself.

Axel didn't say anything as he placed the bag down and walked passed her on his way to the bathroom for a hot shower. Suddenly, he stopped outside the door and looked back at Alana. She was still glaring. He sighed. "It's okay. I think I understand. It's your period, right? I heard women are real bitches during that time of the month."

". . . Please go before I kill you."

"Hmph." He smirked and walked into the bathroom.

She threw herself onto the bed. _He indirectly called me a bitch. _

* * *

"I'm almost done with the keyblade," Vexen announced. He was in the lab, working on his newest creation. Marluxia, Roxas, and Naminé were inside the room with him. "This one is made out of hearts. Sounds familiar?" He asked the Graceful Assassin.

Marluxia shook his head.

"A similar one was used by Riku. Or better yet, Ansem. That one was made out of the hearts of the seven princesses."

"Riku?" Roxas repeated. He had never heard of him. However, it seemed that Vexen and Marluxia had some knowledge of him.

"He was . . . a friend of yours." Vexen walked over to another side of his lab and took out a case. He opened it in a way that only he could see its contents. "When the time is right, you will use the keyblade to unlock Alana's heart to the darkness."

"Yes sir," Roxas responded.

"But the barriers around her heart—!" Naminé started to say but was caught off.

"Are going to be gone by that time," Marluxia smirked. "For once, Axel is doing the Organization some good. Who would have known his influence would have been good for the prisoner?"

Vexen looked back at Roxas. "Of course, it would be most helpful if you brought the girl here. That way, we can have both her Heartless and her Nobody."

"I will," Roxas said.

Naminé sighed and grabbed Roxas' hand. "We can go now." Naminé took Number Thirteen out of the room, away from the other two members.

"It was a good plan, Marluxia," Vexen commented. His sea-green eyes landed on the Graceful Assassin, a smirk tugging the corners of his mouth. "Using Naminé's powers to bend Roxas to our will. But it will wear off eventually, right?"

"Yeah," Marluxia answered. "But by that time it will be too late."

* * *

Sunsetville's festival official started at eight o'clock. The streets were decorated in lights and everyone was outside, even the children. People were either dancing, buying, or watching the public shows. Axel, with what money he had to spare, was buying shish kebab. He gave one to Alana to try. "I heard that's it good," he told her.

Alana tried to get the vegetable off the wooden stick and into her mouth. Yet she was having some difficulty because it was near the middle.

"Try getting it from the side," Axel suggested.

Alana took the advice and finally tasted the vegetable. "It's . . . good," she commented quietly.

"I told you." He wrapped his free arm around Alana's waist. When he noticed that she was staring at him, he started to remove his arm. However, her hand held it in place.

"You can keep it there," she muttered before eating one of the marinated meats. After they were done with shish kebab, they threw the sticks out into an empty garbage can. They reached the section of town where everyone was dancing. There were all types of dancing starting from the simplest and cleanest to the complicated and dirty.

"You want to dance?" Axel asked Alana.

"No," she said immediately. She then quickly added, "I'm not much of a dancer."

"You don't have to be a dancer to dance."

"I hate dancing. I'll go sit by the bar place and you find some other girl to dance with."

Axel stared at her as he thought it over. ". . . Okay." He walked off to find someone else to dance with. Alana, trying her hardest not to care, walked over to the bar and took a seat.

"You're not much of a dancer, are you?" Asked the person next to her.

She looked and saw a boy who appeared to be fifteen or sixteen. His silver hair reached his shoulders and his blue eyes were bright. He wore a yellow vest and blue pants. He also had on a pair of black gloves. He looked at her and smiled a bit. All in all, the boy was cute.

Alana placed her hands on her lap. "No, I'm not. So who are you?"

"Riku. And you are?"

"Alana."

He stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you."

She shook it. "Nice to meet you, too."

The bartender came up to them. "Aren't you going to buy drinks? If you're not, leave so the real paying customers will come."

"One virgin martini," Riku ordered. He looked at Alana. "What do you want? I'm willing to pay for yours."

"Thanks," Alana said to Riku. She looked at the bartender. "I'll take the same thing."

"So," Riku started, "I take it that you aren't from around here?"

Alana sat up straight. "What would make you say that?"

"A shop owner told me that all the residents here by the Sunset Gin or anything with the word 'sunset' in it. The other drinks are for the tourists."

"Oh." Alana had thought that he was working with the Organization and that he came after them. She relaxed a bit and took a sip of her martini. Then she looked at the boy. "So, you must be a tourist."

"Actually, I'm just passing through. I'm looking for someone."

"Who?"

"A friend. The keyblade wielder."

"The keyblade wielder?" Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought about the name. For some reason, Roxas came to mind. However, he was a Nobody in the Organization. Then again, Nobodies were humans before and she didn't know how long he had been in Organization Thirteen. "Is his name Roxas?"

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "It's Sora. You know, I doubt I should be telling a stranger this."

Alana folded her arms. "You don't have to tell me anything. You don't even have to answer my questions."

Riku smirked. "Sounds good. The same goes for you then. The guy that you came with, he's your boyfriend?"

Alana carefully thought of her answer before responding. ". . . No. He's just helping me out of some trouble." Alana looked at the boy and he met her eyes. They were aware that they were doing the same thing: giving answers that didn't reveal a lot of information. It was just small talk because they didn't trust each other yet.

Riku tasted his martini and then spoke. "You must trust him a lot to ask him for help."

"I guess so."

"It shows how much you like him."

She turned and looked at the kid. "What?"

At that moment, Axel came and placed a hand on her shoulder. She instantly turned around and saw him grinning. "You want to go now?" He asked.

Alana nodded and stood. Then her attention switched to Riku. "I hope you find who you're looking for."

"Me, too."

"Thanks for offering to pay for the drink."

"No problem."

Axel had to do a double take. He couldn't believe that the keyblade wielder's friend was sitting right in front of him. If it had been any other time, he would have brought the boy back to the Organization. And get praised for it. However, since he was no longer working with the other Nobodies, he just kept his mouth shut and did nothing.

Alana took out some money and placed it on the counter. "For the martini," she explained.

"I told you that you didn't have to pay."

"Just take it. Bye, Riku."

"Bye."

* * *

"So, you were talking to him the whole time," Axel said as he sat on the bed. They were back in the hotel room. That night, it was Alana's turn to sleep on the bed, leaving the floor for Axel. He would soon have to get off. It was only midnight but the festival was still going strong outside.

"While you were dancing," Alana muttered.

"You said that I could."

"I know that."

"If you didn't want me to, you could have said so."

"Stop implying that I'm jealous."

Axel smirked. "Okay, you're jealous." He wanted to laugh when she let out a groan of frustration. "Now you're mad."

"Do you like pissing me off?"

"No. I love it when you get feisty."

Alana grabbed her pajamas and stormed into the bathroom. Then she slammed the door to let him know how angry she was. She started to undress. Now that she was away from Axel, she realized that she was more frustrated than angry and feisty. She didn't know why though. As she button up her giant pajama shirt, an idea came to mind. Alana thought that she was in denial about her feelings. She closed her eyes as she contemplated and leaned on the door. _Maybe I just have a stupid, silly, pointless, worthless, unnecessary crush. Spending every damn hour of the day is not enough to make someone fall in love. It's never enough. Things like that take months, years. And since it's just a crush, I'll get over it. In about two seconds. _

With that in mind, Alana opened the bathroom door and walked out. Axel was already in his nightwear; it was just the pajamas pants. She watched as he set his "bed" on the floor, eying the muscles in his arm working. "Axel," she said and he looked at her.

_She's only wearing that shirt, _Axel thought to himself as he examined the girl. _It's like she's trying to tempt me._

"Do you want to split the bed in half?"

"Literally?"

"No." She sighed, aggravated that she said anything in the first place. "I mean that you get one half of the bed and I get the other half. I feel . . . bad for making you sleep on the floor."

"Okay," Axel said as he got on to the bed and under the bed sheets. _I think she is tempting me._

Alana put off the light and crawled on to the other side. Then she got underneath the sheets and had her back toward Axel. After two minutes, she turned and checked on him. He was lying on his back. Apparently, he heard the bed creak and had looked at her. She sighed and averted her gaze. "How do you . . . feel about me?"

Axel smirked. "I'm pretty sure if I told you, you'd deny it."

" . . . I won't."

He chuckled. "I love you."

Her jaw dropped. "Y-you're lying," she finally managed to mutter.

"You think so?" He saw the cold glare she was giving him and he laughed. "I know you better than you know yourself."

Again, Alana felt frustration coursing through her body. "You can have the bed tonight. I'll gladly sleep on the floor." She removed the sheets from her body. Before she could get out of bed, Axel sat up and awkwardly pinned her. Her slate eyes met his emerald ones. "Get off me."

"Not until you tell me how you feel about me."

"I. Don't. Feel. Anything. For. You."

Axel sighed. "Let's try this again."

Suddenly, Alana laughed and Axel raised an eyebrow. Yet Alana continued laughing. "And you had the nerve of telling me I'm in denial."

Axel smirked and rested his head on her shoulder. "I never heard you laugh before. It sounds cute."

She stopped and rested her chin on top of his head. _I shouldn't be laughing. I shouldn't be feeling this happy. _There was a knock at the door and Alana snapped out of it. When she realized that she was still pinned, she said, "Axel, the door."

He pushed her back down on the bed as the knocks continued. "Forget about it and show me that you don't feel anything for me." With that, he kissed her on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her body and felt her arms lace themselves around his neck. _So much for not liking me, _Axel thought when she eagerly kissed him back. His tongue begged her lips to part and they made a small opening. His tongue slipped its way into Alana's mouth and she moaned.

The knocking stopped.

He pulled away from her and met her eyes. "Tell me when you want to stop."

"I don't think I want you to." Alana mentally slapped herself for saying that, but her heart gladly raced as his eyes went over her body.

He started to unbutton her pajama shirt, exposing her chest. She blushed when he kissed the top of her breasts. Then he took one of her nipples into his mouth and she let out a gasp. Her fingers ran through his red hair as his name graced her lips. Axel's free hand passed over her stomach then to her side then slid down to her hip. Her body shifted beneath him and he stopped.

"Relax," he whispered to her before he went back to teasing her. Strange sensations spread throughout her body, leaving her feeling needy. Her body silently cried out for more.

Axel stopped and got above her. His eyes stared at her bare chest before staring at her underwear. _Get a hold of yourself, _he thought. _We can't do that yet. _He went back down and claimed her lips for himself. Her arms wrapped around him; after multiple times, Alana was finally enjoying having her chest pressed against his.

The balcony door opened and someone walked into the room. "Axel, Alana! There's a . . . um . . ."

Alana heard the person and, in the mist of her ecstasy, she glanced to her left. She saw someone in the familiar black cloak and black boats. The spiky blonde hair and blue eyes stood out in the darkness. Her face turned bright red as she shoved Axel off and closed her pajama shirt. "Roxas?!"

Axel raised his eyebrows when he saw Number Thirteen by the balcony door. He was surprised that his friend was here, out of all places.

**A/N: For those who read the half-lemon, heh, I warned you. Anyway, thanks to SilverGhostKitsune and Esinahs for reviewing. Also, thanks to those who put me on this story on their alerts/favorites list. Anyway, after the next chapter, there will be about three or four chapters left. At the most five. If you want, you can read the next chapter now or review :)**


	12. Chapter 12: Return to Organization XIII

**CHAPTER 12**

**:Return to Organization XIII:**

Number Thirteen was blushing because he had got an eyeful of inappropriate things that he didn't want to know about. Hearing about it was one thing, but _seeing _it? "Is this the wrong time?" Roxas asked as he stared at Axel and Alana, both of them blushing.

"If it's something important, then it's not," Axel said, his eyes focusing on the floor.

Alana looked elsewhere, embarrassed that she had been caught in that position. Half of her was wishing that she hadn't even been kissing Axel. The rest of her was wishing that Roxas hadn't came in and interrupted. In the deepest parts of her mind, she knew that she had enjoyed whatever Axel had been doing to her. "How is Demyx?" She suddenly asked Roxas.

"That's what I came to talk to you about." He sighed. "Right now, Vexen thinks I'm under his control and he allowed me to search for you. Demyx is held captured in a cell and he will be turned into a Dusk tomorrow night."

Axel looked back at Alana who glanced at him. "It's up to you."

Axel scratched the back of his head as he thought about the scenario. "If it's that important that you came here, then I'll guess I'll go."

Axel stared at her. That was not the answer he had expected. "In case you're forgetting, the whole point of bringing you here was to protect you from Xemnas and the rest of the Organization."

"But Demyx is in trouble."

"Since when do you care about Demyx?"

"He helped me, I help him. Simple as that."

"That makes no sense at all."

"It makes lots of sense."

"How does it makes sense to escape then go back?"

Alana couldn't find an answer to that question and sucked her teeth. Axel smirked at her and it somehow infuriated her. It was as if she had lost the argument. "Get off the bed," she said.

Axel got off the bed without a problem and started to set his makeshift bed again. "Not like it matters. I'm suppose to sleep on the floor anyway."

"I'll go back to the Organization," Roxas announced, sensing the tension. "I don't want them to notice that I'm missing or they might do something to Naminé." He made a portal and went through it.

"I'm surprised that he found us," Axel muttered after a while, wanting to make conversation. "I never told him because they could probe him for information."

"It must have took him a while to find us." As she said this, she buttoned up her pajama shirt again. Alana glanced up and saw Axel's emerald eyes on her. Her eyes then stared at the fabric of the comforter. A blush raised to her cheeks as she thought about what they had been doing moments before. What would have happened if Roxas never interrupted? She blushed more and held herself.

"I'm sorry," Axel said aloud in the darkness. "I just was worried about your safety." He heard the bed creak and looked up. He saw Alana peering down at him. Suddenly, the girl got off the bed and sat next to Axel.

"I want to ask you something," she said.

* * *

Axel woke up first the next day and sat up. He glanced at the bed and saw that Alana was still sleeping. They had simply talked last night, strangely enough, about him. She had asked if he had remembered his past and when he said yes, she asked him to tell her something about it. During his fifteen-minute story, she had fallen asleep next to him. So he had picked her up and put her back on the bed.

He walked over and picked up the black cloak. He looked at it and sighed. _Back to the Organization already. Somehow it feels like it's a bad decision._

* * *

By the time it was noon, Alana had been up for two hours. She had already put on a pair of gray sweats, plain sneakers, and a blue tank top. Her slate eyes followed Axel as he paced throughout the room in his black cloak. She could tell he was anxious about going. "Axel, relax. We're just going to get Demyx and get out."

"I know but we're wanted."

"Your point?"

"We don't have a clue where he could be in that place."

"We'll find him."

"Since when you're so optimistic?"

Alana shrugged, questioning that herself. She had noticed that the barriers around her heart had been wearing off and she had a feeling it was because of Axel. It wasn't until last night that she realized how much she liked him. With that in mind, she let out a sigh.

A dark portal appeared in the room and Roxas stepped out of it. In his hand was an extra Organization cloak. "Are you two ready? We're going to pass through the city."

"Yeah," Axel said. Suddenly he looked back at Alana. "Are you sure you want to come?"

"I'm going." Alana pushed her way passed him and approached the portal. Before she could walk in, there was a knock on the door. They looked at each other before Alana went to open the door.

Alana almost gasped. "Riku."

Roxas raised his eyebrows. _Riku? The same one that Vexen mentioned?_

"I just decided to stop by," Riku said. "I hope you don't mind."

When she was going to respond, Roxas came to the door to see who this Riku was. He raised his eyebrows, seeing nothing special about the kid.

Riku stared at Roxas though. "You look like someone I know."

"Do I?"

_A lot like someone I know, _Riku thought to himself. _He kinda reminds me of Sora._

"Alana is about to leave now," Roxas said, interrupting Riku's thoughts. "So you won't see her again."

"I'm sorry, Riku," Alana spoke up, moving in front of Roxas. She didn't understand why Roxas was acting so assertive. "Trouble came up again."

The silver-haired boy nodded and grinned. He folded his arms behind his head. "I see. I wish I could help you but I doubt I can."

"It's okay," Alana said.

"Goodbye, Alana," Riku said, sticking his hand out.

Alana took it and felt the boy slip something into her hand. Riku quickly pulled away and walked down the hallway. Alana looked down and saw a bill. _I told the kid he didn't have to pay me back._

Roxas closed the door and looked at the other two. Axel was waiting; Alana was slipping the bill into her pocket. He handed the cloak to Alana. "Put it on and pull the hood up." Alana did so quickly. "After you," Roxas said and Alana walked through the portal first.

Soon she got out and saw the tall buildings around her with the neon signs. Despite the lights, the city streets were still dark. On top of that, it was raining. She looked back at the portal and saw Axel and Roxas coming out.

Roxas closed it. "Demyx is in the bottom levels. We can access it from a secret place in the city."

"I never knew that," Axel said.

"Me, too. That was until Zexion showed me."

Alana saw Naminé running toward them in the rain. She reached them and waited to catch her breath. "You need to—!"

Roxas came in front of the girl and placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's good to see you, Naminé." After saying that, he roughly kissed her on the lips.

Axel raised his eyebrows. "Didn't see that one coming." He wondered when Roxas had time to become so direct and straightforward. Last time he checked, he blushed when embarrassing topics were brought up such as sex and girls. Now he was kissing a girl.

Roxas pulled away and looked into Naminé's blue eyes. "I'm glad you're safe. I was worried about you."

"But----!"

Roxas put his finger to her lips. "Don't worry about me." He looked back at Axel and Alana. "Let's go on."

Alana studied the two as she walked behind them. Naminé looked frantic and worried while Roxas looked calm and cunning every time he glanced back at her. Roxas never had that sort of personality and Naminé was only like that when something was wrong. She tried to make sense of the situation.

Alana nearly jumped when she heard thunder for the first time. Axel looked at her and grinned. "Scared?"

"Scared?" She repeated. _Is this fear? Then the first barrier must be breaking. Damn it! _"No," she responded to Axel's taunt. "I'm not scared of thunder." She removed her hood and felt the rain hit her face. "I forgot what fear felt like," she muttered to herself.

"What was that?" Axel asked.

"Nothing."

Roxas stopped walking and looked back at Alana. "I'm glad that you came. I was worried that you wouldn't with Axel telling you not to. We need all the help we can get." Naminé tried to speak up again but Roxas kissed her on the cheek and then nibbled her earlobe, whispering something into her ear.

Alana let out a sound of disgust. "I didn't come to watch you make out with your girlfriend."

Roxas smirked. "I suppose walking in on you and Axel is worth watching."

Suddenly, Demyx jumped down out of nowhere in front of them. Roxas let out a groan. Demyx started waving his arms like crazy. "Run away! It's a trap!" However, he spoke too late.

Zexion jumped down from nearby building and pulled Alana away from Axel. He twisted her arms behind her back. Axel ran toward her but a portal appeared in front of him. Marluxia and Saix walked out of it. Not too soon afterward, Larxene jumped down with Vexen. Then Lexaeus and Xaldin came to join the fight. Finally, Xigbar and Luxord were there as well.

Axel's chakram appeared in his hands and Larxene snapped her fingers. Lightning struck Axel's hands, causing him to drop them. Larxene grinned. "Sorry Axel. Strictly business."

Before he could attack her or anyone for that matter, Marluxia and Lexaeus quickly apprehended him. "You're not getting away this time," the Graceful Assassin sneered.

"Axel!" Alana cried out.

Saix looked at her and walked over. Alana gasped when Saix touched her cheek. "Today you have a different kind of fear in your eyes," he said. "I hope it's not for Axel. You should be more concerned for yourself."

Lightning flashed in the sky, catching Alana's attention. It was then she noticed the last Organization member walking toward them. Xemnas approached the small gathering in the rain, his silver hair plastered to his face like everyone else who neglected to put on their hoods. Alana knew that it was only the second time she had seen him and realized that something important must be going on.

"You set us up!" Axel yelled at Roxas. "I bet it's that witch's fault!"

"It is," Vexen said. "But I don't need to go into details about it. The important thing is that we will have access to Kingdom Hearts thanks to Number Thirteen and my artificial keyblade."

On cue, a black keyblade appeared in Roxas' hand and he eyed it before he neared Alana. "So I just stab her?" Roxas asked Vexen. Vexen nodded and Roxas faced Alana again.

"Can I hug her goodbye?" Demyx asked. "Before Roxas kills her?"

"He's not killing her," Zexion muttered. "We're going to only kill half of her."

"It better be only half of her," Xemnas spoke. "Or else, Vexen will be pay dearly for his mistake."

Vexen gulped and looked at Roxas. "Go on with it."

"Yes," Roxas answered. He stared at Alana. Her dark brown hair was wet. Through the hair that fell across her face, her slate eyes glared at him. He smirked. "You'll never see Axel again. The most you'll be is an empty being, if we even permit that half of you live."

Alana's slate eyes stared at the blade as it raised into the air. _The outcome could be devastating, _she thought as she remembered the words of her master. _You were only talking about the Heartless but you never mentioned the Nobodies. Maybe it should have been obvious. _Tearing her eyes away from the keyblade, Alana looked at Axel._ And I never had the chance to tell him that I do . . ._ She felt the blade stab her heart, her body growing numb, and then the world turned black.

**A/N: So if you didn't get it, Alana is no longer Alana. Technically she's a Heartless and a Nobody at this point. Sorry if I made Roxas go to the dark side. He was the only Organization member who could use a keyblade and he wouldn't use it against Alana if he wasn't controlled. Just to let you know, he might be worse in the next chapter. A lot worse. I would know because I started it already. So if you think Roxas was bad enough, you're wrong. Oh and please review. I appreciate it a lot****. Thanks. Till later, I guess.**


	13. Chapter 13: The Nobody

**A/N: Only one chapter this time. Just to let you know, I'm going away next week. I'll be on some three-week trip. So I'm going to try to add one more chapter before I leave. So here it is.**

**CHAPTER 13**

**:The Nobody:**

"Alana!" Axel screamed. She was gone. She had disappeared right before his eyes. The keyblade in Roxas' hand had shattered before disappearing as well. No one spoke, waiting for the heartless to appear.

"She really is gone," Demyx said, breaking the silence.

"Where's her Heartless?" Marluxia asked Vexen. The Graceful Assassin was struggling a bit with Axel, who was trying to get free. He had to twist the redhead's arm a little to get some control.

"It should be nearby," Vexen said looking around the surrounding the area.

"Unless she died," Larxene muttered. "As usually Vexie, your experiment has gone wrong."

"It didn't!" Vexen exclaimed. He glanced at the Superior and saw the anger on Xemnas' face. He gulped, feeling nervous. "The Heartless must have . . . appeared somewhere else."

"Find it!" Xemnas snarled. He wanted the Heartless very badly. Without it, they couldn't do what they wanted and Xemnas knew that.

"What about him?" Lexaeus spoke up, still holding the redhead.

"Kill him," Marluxia immediately said.

"You wouldn't want to that," Axel muttered.

"Why shouldn't we?" Zexion asked. "You betrayed the Organization. You stole the girl from us. Give us one good reason."

Axel looked at the Organization, all of whom were glaring at him. He racked his brain, trying to come up with an answer. "Because I can find the Heartless."

There was silence again. Xemnas gave him a scrutinizing look while most of the others stood there in disbelief. Axel bit his bottom lip, hoping they would believe it. Suddenly, Marluxia cried out, "Bullshit!" Everyone looked at him. "We can't even trust you to do anything and you expect us to believe what you're saying?!"

"Yes," Axel responded. "I have more common sense than you." He felt his arm get jerked roughly and he winced.

"How do you plan to find her Heartless?" Saix asked, glaring at the Flurry of Dancing Flames.

Axel grinned. "Simple. We use her Nobody."

"We don't even have an idea where the Nobody is," Zexion pointed out.

"I'll tell you in exchange for my life. All you have to do is let me go." When Lexaeus and Marluxia reluctantly released him, he immediately moved away from the group. "As I was saying, Alana's Nobody is . . ." He paused and then he took off running in the city. The rest of the Organization chased him. _This is the most stupid thing I've done. I've got nowhere to run to. _He saw the biggest skyscraper in the city and ran up the stairs. He opened the door and ran into the lobby. Then, Axel looked around to see his options. There was two elevators, a hallway, and stairs. He decided to run down the hallway.

He stopped short when he saw someone was in it. It was a bare woman. She had long raven hair that reminded him of someone. However he couldn't see her face. "Alana?" The person turned and looked at him. It was then he could see that her eyes were the color of coal.

Before he could do anything, he was tackled by Xigbar. "Got ya!" Xigbar said, his weapon appearing in his hand. He placed it on the back of Axel's neck. He looked up and saw the person. "Um . . ." His golden eyes examined the female before him, his mind not fully understanding what was going on. He heard the foot patter stop behind him.

"I told you I'd find her Nobody," Axel muttered when everyone arrived.

* * *

"Alana, say something," Demyx begged the Nobody. She was no longer nude; she wore an Organization coat. "Anything?" He pleaded.

He, the Nobody, Zexion, and Axel were in the library. Demyx and the Nobody were occupying the only two chairs around a table, forcing Axel and Zexion to stand. Axel had gotten lucky and was not punished on Xemnas' orders because he had 'found the Nobody'. Now that they were trying to interrogate her, she didn't respond. Although ten minutes had passed, it was still Demyx's turn.

"Do you at least remember me?" Demyx asked. When she didn't respond, he sighed. "I knew I was the wrong person for this job."

"Now that you've gotten that memorized, move over," Axel said. Demyx got up from the seat and Axel sat down across from the girl. "Do you remember me?" No response. "Hm. Maybe something nostalgic would help."

"Like what?" Zexion asked.

"Sensation."

Zexion let out a groan of disgust. "I'm pretty sure what you have in mind is sickening."

Axel grinned. "You don't have to watch."

"You went that far?" Demyx chirped in.

Zexion decided it was best to ignore the two and thought about other ways of getting something out of her. She had been mute since she had arrived in the Castle That Never Was.

The door to the library opened up and Roxas walked in. He glanced at the Nobody sitting there. While everyone glared at him, she was the only one who didn't bother to look. He walked over and stood behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Zexion calmly asked.

"I wanted to see if she was responding," Roxas asked. "You have any ideas to go about this?"

"Axel wanted to try nostalgic things," Demyx answered.

Roxas looked down at the girl. "Nostalgic? How nostalgic?" He bent over slightly and wrapped his arms around her. He looked at Axel and saw Axel's glare. "Is something wrong?"

"I liked it better when you were quiet," Zexion told Roxas, gazing at the girl hoping to catch the slightest "emotion" on her face.

Axel was staring at the girl for a different reason. As much as Axel told himself that it wasn't Alana, he still felt a bit possessive over her. And watching Roxas do that was making him upset. His eyes narrowed when he saw Roxas took hold of the zipper and tugged it down.

The Nobody caught Roxas' hand before he could reveal anything. Her coal eyes met his crystal blue ones. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't do that."

Demyx grinned. "Aw, she speaks. Oh, speak again bright angel."

Zexion hit Demyx on top of the head. Demyx let out a groan that the Cloaked Schemer ignored. "Shut up before you say something stupid," he ordered. Then he looked at the Nobody sitting in front of him. She was silent again.

"Maybe we should try something else," Demyx suggested.

"Okay," Roxas said. He looked at Axel and smirked. "Did you fuck her before?"

If Demyx had been drinking something, he would have sputtered. However, since he was not, all he could do was drop his jaw at Roxas' new vocabulary. Zexion wasn't as expressive as Demyx. All he did was raise his eyebrows.

"And if I did?" Axel asked, ignoring the curse word that Roxas had used. He was more curious about Number Thirteen's answer.

"I'll try it to see if that works."

Before Axel could retort something, the library door opened again and Naminé stepped inside. "Roxas, I was looking for you."

Number Thirteen stood up straight and cast a glare at Axel before walking to the door to meet Naminé. When their backs were turned, a chakram appeared in Axel hand and he threw it at Naminé. Before it could hit her, Roxas blocked with his keyblade. He glared at Axel as Naminé scurried out of the room. When she was out, he left himself.

Zexion sighed. "As you already know, Axel, Naminé tweaked Roxas and changed things about him. Not only was he bent to Marluxia's will but also hers. She wanted Roxas to protect her and care for her. However, with some of Marluxia's requests, the end result was what you see now. So it isn't her fault."

"But it is if she did it," Axel muttered. "Thanks to her freakin' handiwork, Alana's gone."

Zexion sighed. "I'll tell give you a more detailed explanation later." After saying that, Zexion walked over to the Nobody and looked into her eyes. "What is your name?"

She didn't say anything for a while. When she finally spoke, she turned her head away and narrowed her eyes. "None of your business."

Axel grinned because it reminded him of the first time he had asked Alana for her name. She had retorted the same thing. Axel stood and approached the girl. "My name is Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" She didn't respond. He took her hand in his and pulled slightly so she'd look at him. "You know mine. You should have no problem telling me yours."

Her eyebrows furrowed a little because she was confused. Something was in her mind telling her to go ahead as she looked into his green eyes. She saw no harm in letting him know although she couldn't help feeling reluctant. "It's . . . Naxala."

"Okay, _Naxala_, you know where your Heartless is?"

". . . No."

Demyx stepped in. "Do you remember anything at all?"

" . . . No."

* * *

A day had passed and Naxala was in her new room. It was close to Number Thirteen's, whose was right across the hall. She sat on her bed near the window, thinking about why she felt empty, hollow, void of emotion. It was like she wasn't even whole anymore.

When Demyx had asked her if she remembered anything, she had lied. She did remember some vague things like a silver-haired boy she had met and fighting a blond girl. She could even recall being alone with the redhead named Axel.

Axel . . .

Somehow, she felt that he had been important to her. Maybe he still was but she felt empty about it. When a portal appeared in the room, Naxala sat upright with hope. "Axel?"

Demyx came out with a tray of food. He took in a big breath and released a "No." He sat on her bed and passed her the tray. "Here's your lunch." Today's lunch was a club sandwich that was a foot long. He doubted that she was going eat the whole thing.

"Thanks." She was about to take a bit out the sandwich but noticed that Demyx was staring at her. She didn't like anyone watching while she ate. Somehow it annoyed her. "Is it possible to look some where else?"

He met her eyes. "I was just noticing how much you look like her."

"Who?"

"Alana."

Her eyes widen at something clicked in her mind before slightly narrowing at the Melodious Nocturne. "Oh, her."

"You remember her?"

" . . . Roxas told me about her this morning."

Demyx leaped off the bed. "What did he do to you? What did he say? Whatever he told you, don't listen to it. He's just mad at Axel. It's all due to how Naminé screwed him up. He's _suppose _to hate Axel. It just that some lapse made him feel like using Alana to piss Axel off. Or something like that."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Huh?"

Demyx looked away. "Never mind. Forget that I even said that. The point is you're not Alana and Roxas has no reason messing with you like this. I'll have to talk to him."

"It's okay. I don't want you . . . or Axel to worry about it."

Demyx sat down on the bed next to the girl and wrapped an arm around her. "Are you sure? 'Cause I'll worry anyway. That's the kind of guy I am."

"I'm sure," she muttered, removing his arm from her shoulders.

Demyx just stared at her before laughing a bit. It was something that Alana would do. He stopped for a second and gave her hug. When she looked at him, he shrugged. Then he got off the bed and left the room through a portal.

Naxala reached for her sandwich and was about to take a bite out of it when the door opened. This time, it was Roxas who had came for a visit. She placed her sandwich back on the plate, not willing to eat in front of him either. "Did something happen?"

He shook his head. "I came here on Marluxia's orders. You know, the guy with the flower petals and shit?" When she nodded, he grinned. "That's take care of one thing. Now, we can talk about something important."

Naxala spoke up. "First, I want to ask you a question."

Roxas looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Um . . ." He tried to decide what to do. He wanted to get this talk over with but she had a question. He finally made up his mind to only find out what the question was. "Go ahead."

"Why does Axel hate Naminé so much?"

"I'll answer that question later. As I was saying----"

"I really want to know," she interrupted. Her voice had carried no emotion but her eyes showed all the pleading. Naxala stared at Roxas while she waited for a response. However, Roxas refused to give one.

The door opened again and this time, Marluxia and Larxene walked in. Quietly, they closed the door so no one passing by could see them. They saw Naxala sitting on the bed and Roxas leaning on the wall.

Larxene sighed. "I thought we'd walk in the middle of you two having sex."

Naxala raised her eyebrows. "Why would we do that?" Her eyes glanced at Roxas. He wasn't looking at anyone. However, he was smirking about something. Alana focused her attention on Larxene. "I don't think that could possibly happen at all."

Larxene raised her eyebrows. "Huh?"

"I'd rather do it with Axel." Naxala frowned at what she said while the other three Nobodies were quiet.

Suddenly, Marluxia laughed and all eyes were on him. He walked up to the girl and cupped her chin. Then he tilted her head so their eyes could meet. "I understand know. You're thinking like that girl Alana. She must have had it really bad." He smirked. "However, Axel doesn't feel the same about you. All he sees is Alana and that's the only thing he wants to get inside of."

He paused for a second and saw the hurt look in her eyes. Her sadness made him feel even better about what he was doing. He saw a chance to mess with the girl before Axel could. "I, on the other hand, notice you for you. I know that you're not Alana. And unlike Axel, I care for you." With that, he leaned forward and kissed Naxala on the lips.

Naxala quickly pulled away and slapped him across the face. He looked shocked at first, then furious. Before she could do something, he struck her twice as hard. He then forced her down on the bed and sat on top of her in a way that she couldn't move if she tried. His gloved hands took a hold of her wrists and held it against the bed.

"Get off me," she said, trying to get free to no avail.

He ignored her. "I'm rather curious why Axel would betray us for the sake of that girl," Marluxia muttered. Then he began kissing her roughly.

* * *

"Damn!" Axel yelled as his fist collided with the wall. "That stupid witch!" He was talking with Zexion on the way to Naxala's room. Zexion had just filled Axel in on what had happened to Roxas. Unfortunately, Axel hadn't handled the news as calmly as he could have.

Zexion sighed as Axel punched the wall again. "You need to act more rational instead of putting dents in the walls."

"It's her fault that I lost Alana!"

"You're still . . . you might as well forget about her. That girl has brought only trouble to the Organization."

"What do you mean?"

At that moment, Marluxia and Larxene walked out of Naxala's room further down the hallway. They saw Axel and Zexion glaring at them. "What's wrong, Axel?" Marluxia asked.

"What were you doing in there?" Axel asked.

Marluxia smirked. "I was merely checking up on Roxas and Naxala."

* * *

"I don't know why I feel guilty about this like it's my fault," Roxas muttered. He was sitting on the bed, holding Naxala. He glanced at the Nobody. Her lips were bruised due to Marluxia's intended roughness. Her black coat was open because Marluxia had tugged the silver handle down. Her cheek was still red from getting slapped. "I don't even know why I threatened Marluxia for doing that to you."

"Thank you anyway," she said and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her coal black eyes met his crystal blue ones.

He didn't break the eye contact. "He was right about Axel though. He doesn't care about you. But I doubt that Marluxia cares about you, either." He leaned closer to her face, thinking about whether he should kiss her. When he saw Naxala moving in a little closer, he decided to meet her halfway.

Once he heard a creaking sound, he immediately pulled away from Naxala and glanced at the door. He saw Axel and Zexion standing there, staring at him and the girl in his arms. Roxas looked at Naxala and saw that she noticed them as well. He unraveled his arms from the girl. Then, without a word, Roxas stood and left, pushing his way pass Axel.

Naxala sat alone on the bed now. For whatever reason, she found that she couldn't look at Axel. She felt guilty like she had done something she shouldn't have. _But I'm not his lover, _she protested in her mind. _He doesn't even care for me. He doesn't even see me as 'Naxala'. He just sees me as half of a person he knew. That's all._

"Why . . . What were you doing?" Axel suddenly asked, breaking the uneasy silence.

Naxala glanced up and saw Axel gazing at her. She bit her bottom lip when she saw the look in his eyes. She tore her eyes away and looked at the bed. ". . . I'm not Alana."

Axel studied the black-haired girl who wore the Organization cloak. He looked elsewhere and leaned on the doorframe, folding his arms. Then he contemplated about the situation before speaking again. "You are right. You're not Alana."

**A/N:** **I like this chapter and I have no clue why! I think it was just fun writing. Anyway, don't worry: Roxas is not going to hook up with Alana's Nobody overnight. I'm just a drama-lover. Remember, this is suppose to be an AxelxOC fic. And what became of Alana's Heartless? You'll find out next chapter. Also, I feel bad that Axel lost Alana thanks to Naminé (sorry if I made her seem like a real bitch this chapter). But Axel's easy acceptance at the end of this chapter sorts of set things up for later. Oh and if you hate Naxala for some reason, you only have to deal with her for one or two more chapters. In case you didn't catch it, Roxas going against Marluxia means that he is slowly returning back to normal. Yay! But will it be in time before Phase Two of Vexen's plan? Besides all that, thanks to Ayrtha21kebladewielder, UnderAgeThinker, and SilverGhostKitsune for reviewing. Come on people, review! I really enjoy reading them. It's better than doing summer homework! That is all.**


	14. Chapter 14: The Heartless

**A/N: I'm leaving Wednesday tomorrow! I have to wait three freakin weeks before I work on the Chapter 16. Yes people. I posted up two chapters today although I wasn't planning on doing so. It just happened that when this one was ready, so was the other one. Anyway, I'm sorry this one came out to be long but there was so much to add. There's also two time skips. The time skips might throw this chapter a little off momentum.**

**CHAPTER 14**

**:The Heartless:**

It was late at night when Master Dimitri decided it was time to leave the library and go to bed. He got off his arm chair and put the book he was reading back on the shelf. Alana had been missing for over a month and he was worried about her. However, he was certain that she was alright; he had confidence in her skills. After all, the girl had been fighting Heartless for a few years now.

After Dimitri had exited the library and had started to descend the stairs, he heard a knock coming from the door. Quickly, he got off the last step and walked over to the door. When he was about to open it, something black slithered under the crack. He glanced down and saw a moving black puddle. He backed away from the door and instinctively grabbed his silver cane. Before he could attack, the black puddle took the form of a Neoshadow.

He looked into its big, yellow eyes while the creature stood there. Then he cautiously approached it. However, the Heartless did not attack. Dimitri didn't understand why the Heartless would come to his house. Unless it looked familiar to it. "Alana?" He asked.

The Neoshadow did nothing but stare at the old man. Then Dimitri extended a hand which the Heartless took. "Alana . . . how did you let this happen?"

* * *

Four days had passed since Naxala's arrival. So far the Nobody hadn't been much help to Organization XIII. However, Xemnas thought she had to be worth something. It just would take the right methods of persuasion to get the right results. Because of Xemnas, she was able to remain at the castle as one of them. However, Axel decided that he wouldn't talk to her.

Axel was walking in the hallways with Demyx, the only person he was willing to share information with. He was talking about his new plan of action. "So," Axel concluded, "I'm going to get Alana back by forcing the Nobody to join with the Heartless."

"Sure," Demyx slowly said and then quickly added, "Have you ever wondered why the Organization calls you a traitor?"

"I thought it was because I don't follow orders."

"That's only half of it." Demyx stopped outside a door and pointed at it. "She's in here."

Axel took a hold of the doorknob and turned it slowly. Then he pushed the door in and entered the room with Demyx. Naminé was drawing as she sat next to a white table. It was a picture of Roxas and another girl. As she was adding the details to it, Axel took it away from her and examined it for himself. "Hello, Naminé," he muttered.

"Axel?!" She said with alarm in her voice. She was about to run out but saw Demyx leaning against the door, blocking the only way out of the room. "What is it?" She asked quietly.

"You need to return Roxas back to normal."

"But Marluxia will be---"

"So what? That's not what matters now." He placed the picture on the table again. "Even you can tell Roxas is changing to Marluxia's interests. Soon he won't even care about you."

"Wait," Demyx interrupted. "Does she know about Roxas' little make out session with Naxala?"

Axel looked at Demyx with a raised eyebrow. He thought that Demyx had exaggerated the story that Zexion and himself had belied to him. Then again, he couldn't find a word to describe what Roxas and the girl had been doing.

Naminé frowned. "That doesn't sound like something he would do."

"Why wouldn't he?" Axel prompted. "If the girl is hotter, older and more mature than the girl a guy's with, he would dump that one for the other one. I would. Demyx would. Even Zexion. We're all nice guys. So why would there be an exception for Roxas?" He believed that some women had these possessive tendencies when it came to boys.

"But Roxas isn't that type of guy."

"Denial," Demyx sang in the background.

Axel grinned before focusing on the girl. "See for yourself. Let me know if you want to help."

* * *

Naxala sat outside on the Altar of Naught. She stared at the incomplete moon-like heart in the sky, not understanding why it drew her. She had been there for an hour because she didn't want to see anyone. She was avoiding Axel, Roxas, Marluxia, and Zexion. She wanted to avoid Demyx, too. However, she was forced to see Demyx during meal times and that was when he bugged her the most about Roxas.

She heard footsteps behind her and looked back. When she saw it was _him_, she looked straight ahead, trying to think if she could escape. It was too late to act as he sat down next to her. "Hi, Roxas," she said, staring straight ahead.

"Hey, Naxala," Roxas greeted. "Marluxia told me you ran away from him today."

"I didn't see him."

"After he called you name and you looked at him," Roxas added. He glanced at his left and saw that Naxala was already looking at him. He quickly adverted his gaze. "He wanted to talk to you about your . . . other."

"What about it?"

"He wants to know if you can find it."

" . . . I can't."

"Is that really true?" Roxas leaned forward so he could look into her coal eyes. He caught hers almost instantly. "Or are you just lying to me?" She was about to get up but he took a hold of her hand. "At least let me know if you can see my aura."

Her mouth dropped open a bit and her eyebrows furrowed. Naxala stared at Roxas, wondering why he would say that. It was random, it was out of the blue, it was the truth. She had been able see his aura and everyone else in the castle. However, no one had asked her that before. "What if I can?" She asked, curious about where this was leading.

"Can you see yours?" The Key of Destiny watched as the girl stared at her arm. He guessed that she was trying to see if she could. After two seconds, she looked back at him.

"No," she said.

"Wouldn't it make sense that if you came across Alana's Heartless, you wouldn't see its aura either?"

"Yeah, but how would that . . . I think I understand now." The plan made sense to her. Alana's other half would be a Heartless that wouldn't have an aura to her. However, there were so many Heartless in different worlds. Too find a specific one seemed impossible.

"Do you want to become Alana again?" He inquired, releasing her hand and staring at Kingdom Hearts.

"You mean join with her Heartless?" She stood and looked down at him.

Roxas nodded. "I bet Axel wants that. He would force you to."

"I don't want to be a part of her again."

"Then watch out for Axel," he said as he got up. Then he noticed that Naxala was about three inches taller than him. _So I am the shortest person in the Organization._ _Great. _Roxas sighed and scratched his head. "So, um, do you have weird dreams?"

Naxala looked at him. "Like what?"

He shrugged as he tried to find the right words to describe it. "Like . . . you're remembering someone else's memories."

The female Nobody thought about it before she headed for the stairs. Then she answered, "The person I used to be . . . but they've stopped . . . Now that you said that, I think I might know where to find her Heartless."

Roxas felt that someone was watching them. He looked behind him and saw Naminé standing in front of a portal. "Naminé?" He whispered, surprised to see her there. They stared at each other before she left.

When Naxala noticed that Roxas wasn't near her, she glanced backward and saw him standing still. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, not sure about that answer himself. "What were you saying before?"

* * *

Another day passed. The Organization decided it was time to conduct the search for the other half of Alana. That day, they went around in two groups. Group One included Larxene, Marluxia, Vexen, and Xigbar. They had the blue cube to collect Heartless. The other group included Axel, Demyx, Roxas, and Naxala. The latter four were walking in a forest of Twilight Town. They were hoping to run into Alana's Heartless. The ones that they did run into were not hers and they automatically got rid of them.

"How about we make even smaller groups?" Demyx suggested. "We'll be able to cover more ground that way."

"Sure," Roxas agreed, not understanding the purpose behind this idea. "I'm with---"

"I got Naxala," Axel immediately cut in. All eyes were on him. "I think we'll make a great team."

"I don't think so," Naxala said. "I know what you're up to."

Axel grinned. "That I want to get to know you better?"

"Don't play games with me," she snapped. "You don't even like me."

"But I do."

Naxala ignored him. "I'll go with Demyx," she finally muttered.

Demyx shook his head. "That won't work. Axel and Roxas would kill each other."

"Fine then. I'll go with Roxas."

Axel laughed. "Right, so the two of you can make out in the middle of the forest." Roxas blushed and adverted his gaze while Naxala just stared at Axel in disbelief. Axel continued. "I don't think Roxas can handle a woman anyway."

"And you can?" Naxala asked.

"Yeah, I can."

Naxala walked up to Axel and shoved him with her hand. "Okay, let's go since you can _handle_ me, Axel."

"That's fine with me," Demyx said.

"Are you sure about this?" Roxas asked Naxala.

". . . I'm sure."

So the group parted ways. Axel and Naxala went to the east while Demyx and Roxas went to the west. It was then that Naxala believed that she had made a mistake. Why did she agreed to go with Axel? She couldn't come up with an answer. So the girl was frustrated with herself.

After walking for fifteen minutes in silence, Axel spoke first. "Why did you say yes?"

The girl glared at him fiercely. "Why would it matter?"

"Good point. What matters is that we're together now." He looked at her and smirked. "I was jealous when you picked Roxas over me. It made me wonder, 'Did Alana like Roxas better?' But I think I figured it out. Loving me is what would make you Alana. So by going against that, you hoped to find some new identity."

"That makes no sense whatsoever."

"Of course, you know, you have to give your half back."

Naxala smirked now. "You believe that by us being alone, you can bring back Alana once you find the Heartless without any trouble from the other members."

Axel grinned. "Exactly."

"Most people don't tell other people their plans."

"Well, I'm not part of the majority."

"Too bad I'm not going back so easily." Naxala saw a path and decided to follow it. Axel trailed behind, wondering where she was going. Then he saw a mansion through tall gates.

"What's here?" He asked.

"Dimitri," Naxala responded, deciding not to call him 'Master' like Alana. "Alana lived here for the last two years." She pulled open one side of the gates and walked inside. Axel ran in before the gate closed itself.

* * *

Master Dimitri was writing a letter to his old colleague in the white room. It was located on the second floor and had a frontal view of the house. A long table was placed in the center of the room. In addition, there was a bird post with a falcon perched on it. The bird post was in the right corner opposite the door.

Casually, he looked out the window. Thinking he saw something moving on his property, he strode to the curtains and drew them. It was two people wearing black cloaks. They were approaching the front door. Quickly he placed the letter in an envelope and walked over to the falcon perched in the corner of the room. Then he tied the envelope to its leg. "You know where to find DiZ," he said as he walked across the room to open a window. The bird flew out.

"Alana," Master Dimitri called and the Neoshadow appeared in the room. "Stay here. No matter what happens, stay up here." Then he left the room to greet his visitors.

* * *

Demyx struggled to get off the ground, refusing to let go of his sitar. He didn't know that Roxas had been that strong. He looked at the blonde glaring at him and thought that he had been better off going with Naxala. Except Axel had said that Roxas would have been the easier one to handle. Heh, the Flurry of Dancing Flames screwed that one up.

Roxas looked away from the Melodious Nocturne and glared at Naminé. Naminé started to fidget with the hem of her dress as she stared at the ground. She had came as part of Axel's plan. Demyx was suppose to hold Roxas as Naminé returned him back to normal. However, Demyx wasn't evenly matched with Roxas. Now, Naminé stood there worried that Roxas would attack. "We were only trying to help you Roxas," she explained.

"By attacking me?" He asked indignantly.

"Roxas, you have to understand. I have to revert you back to the way you were before something goes wrong!"

A portal appeared and Larxene came out. She grinned sadistically. "Naminé, you know you're not suppose to be here."

Demyx groaned as he managed to sit upright. "This is really bad," he muttered to himself. He was not in the mood of dealing with the Savage Nymph.

Larxene looked at Demyx and grinned sadistically. "How did you end up there? Did Roxas beat you up?"

The Melodious Nocturne bit his lip as he tried to come up with some excuse. "In case you're getting ideas, I'm not even helping Axel. I have no idea what he's up to. I---"

"Will you shut up?" Larxene snapped. "That's not important. We're about to get to Kingdom Hearts."

"How?" Naminé inquired. "You don't know where the Heartless is."

The Savage Nymph grinned. "Little girl, when Naxala told Roxas her theory, Roxas told Marluxia and the chances of it being right are over fifty percent according to Vexen."

"I'm going to the mansion," Roxas announced as he walked off. He knew that Larxene wouldn't protest. He was the only one that could finish their plan.

* * *

"Master," Naxala said when the old man opened the door to the mansion. Axel stood behind her, waiting for something to happen. He wanted to see if Dimitri would see through this act. The old mad did a lot quicker than expected.

"Don't call me 'Master'," he ordered. "I know you're not my apprentice."

"Good for you," she muttered. "Where is it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know it's here. So that you can understand: this is about her Heartless."

"You want to destroy it?"

"I don't," Axel interrupted. "I just need it for a different reason."

"I not handing the Heartless to either one of you," Master Dimitri said and tried to close the door. However, Naxala stuck her foot in the way. Their eyes met and he saw the iciness in them. He moved away from the door as the Nobody forced her way inside the house. Axel entered the mansion and closed the door.

They were in the foyer. There were two staircases on either side of the room. Between the staircases was a door that led to a garden. In addition, there were two doors on opposite sides of the foyer. The two doors had a painting and an armor on one side of it and a vase on a stand on the other. In the center were four stands with an object on each one. There were also some candlesticks placed in various parts of the room. Axel thought any one that lived here had it made.

Axel then looked at the old man. "Dimitri, I knew Alana before she became that thing," he said, pointing to Naxala. "I cared for her and I just want to get her back." He wanted to let Dimitri know whose side he was on. He hoped that the old man wouldn't make this any more difficult than it needed to be.

Dimitri grunted. "Nobodies can't care for anyone," he growled.

"So that's where Alana gets it from," Axel muttered under his breath.

"I'm not leaving without it," Naxala declared as two-bladed staff appeared in her hand. It was like Alana except hers as black. She eyed the cane Dimitri picked up. It was silver yet it looked like it was extremely light.

Without hesitation, she charged and attacked the old man. He dodged and she hit one of the four cases. The object inside of it broke as well as the case. The pieces scattered on the tiled floor. She stood upright and glared at the old man. She swung at him again and he blocked with his cane.

"You fight just like her," he muttered. "So predictable." With a twist of his weapon of choice, he managed to force Naxala to back up toward the dining room door. He swung and accidently hit a vase. Naxala took the chance and kicked him into the ground.

Axel watched, deciding it was best for them to duke it out. As long as the Nobody was unharmed in the end; he needed that half. Another crash brought Axel's mind back to the fight. Apparently, Naxala had been thrown into the armor and the painting by the opposite door. He almost laughed when the old man tried to hit her with the cane while Naxala was still on the ground. It was a cheap move of course but he supposed the old man couldn't care less. When Axel was sure that Dimitri had gotten Naxala, she kicked the cane and it hit the vase instead.

Naxala flipped back up and lashed out with her staff. Dimitri backed up in time. She ran forward and he prepared to block her attack. He glanced over his shoulder and saw he was backing into a stand. He moved out of the way and let her smash it to bits.

The fight continued for another five minutes, neither person getting anywhere. Axel got bored of watching and sat at the door, waiting for it to be over. He glanced up and saw Dimitri standing in front of one of the two remaining stands. Suddenly, there was a clanging sound. His emerald eyes switched over to Naxala and saw that she had dropped her staff.

Naxala focused and her right hand glowed. She stared at it before glaring at the old man. She then charged with her hand out in front of her. Dimitri tried to block with his cane but she dodged under it. Her hand penetrated his chest and she slammed him into the stand.

"My heart," he gasped.

"Exactly," she muttered. "Soon you won't even have one." She crushed it in her hand.

Dimitri closed his eyes. "My own . . . student . . ." He felt his body grow cold before it broke down into nothingness.

Axel clapped while he smirked. He walked up to the Nobody standing in the middle of the foyer. "Good job. You killed Alana's master. Makes you feel proud, doesn't it?"

"Shut up," Naxala yelled, driving her hand in Axel's chest. When she felt nothing, she gritted her teeth. "I wish you had a heart so I can kill you."

"Even if I did, you wouldn't do that," he muttered as he grabbed her hand out of his chest. "You're just a little like Alana at heart."

"I don't even have a heart!" When Axel chuckled, she attempted to punch him in the stomach. However, Axel caught her fist and the humor shown in his eyes.

"That would be something Alana would do," he grinned.

"Will you shut up about Alana?!"

"No," he said, shaking his head. He looked up and saw Roxas peering at them over the railing. _Some help you are, _he thought as his mind wondered why Demyx wasn't with Number Thirteen. "Hello, Roxas. How did you get inside?"

"A window was opened," he muttered. "I thought I saw something next to it and decided to go through that way."

Naxala pulled herself away from Axel and shot the guy a look as she spoke to Roxas. "The Heartless is here."

"Good," Roxas responded. "We just need to find it."

There was a sound that came from the stairs. A black puddle descended the stairs till it reached the bottom. Then it took shape and became a Neoshadow. The three Nobodies all stared at it, wondering if it was what they had came here for. Then Naxala broke the silence. "It doesn't have an aura."

Roxas jumped over the railing and landed on his feet. Then Oathkeeper appeared in his hands. He approached the creature, which looked at him with its yellow eyes. Before Roxas could attack, Axel's chakram appeared and Axel threw it at him. Roxas easily deflected it and glared at the redhead. Number Eight grinned. "Sorry Roxas but that Heartless is coming with me."

**A/N: Thanks to Knightgirl4Jack, Ayrtha21keybladewielder, SilverGhostKitsune, and Esinahs for reviewing. Anyway, in case you were wondering, I don't really have a reason why I used the Haunted Mansion in Twilight Town. At first I wanted Dimitri to live in Hollow Bastion but then I changed my mind. With all the debris in the Haunted Mansion, I thought a fight could have happen there. Besides that, there's a second chapter (one I didn't plan on posting) up for reading. So if you feel like it, continue on.**


	15. Chapter 15: The Deciding Battle

**A/N: I won't lie. This chapter is shorter than a lot of my chapters. I guess it's good. It makes up for the last chapter that ended up being extremely long.**

**CHAPTER 15**

**:The Deciding Battle:**

"Betraying the Organization, again?" Roxas inquired. His eyes were on Axel in case the Flurry of Flames tried another attack.

Axel approached Roxas carefully, his green eyes on the keyblades. "If you get rid of the Heartless, Alana won't come back. So I can't let you destroy it. Understand?" His chakram twirled between his fingers as he walked, ready for another attack. He wouldn't kill Roxas because he was his friend. The most he was willing to do was beat the kid bad till he was unconscious.

"I'm not going back," Naxala said.

"You have no choice in the matter," Axel replied.

"She doesn't have to if she says no," Roxas cut in.

"Mind your business." Axel's green eyes landed on the Neoshadow. At first, the Heartless did nothing. Then it went to puddle form and appeared behind Axel. The Flurry of Flames looked at it before patting it on the head. "See? She already wants to come with me."

"It doesn't have a choice," Roxas said.

"Yeah," Axel said sarcastically. "Give the Nobody a choice but not the Heartless."

"Why don't take your own advice and mind your damn business?"

Axel sighed. "I'll forgive you only because you have no idea what you're saying." He turned around to escape with the Heartless. However, Naxala was already at the door and Axel realized that he couldn't leave that way. He looked back at Number Thirteen. "Okay. I'll fight you."

Roxas grinned and his second keyblade, Oblivion, appeared. Then, with keyblades dragging on the floor, he charged at Axel. When he was two feet away, he lifted them up and swung them hard.

Axel flipped back and threw his burning chakram at Number Thirteen. Roxas retreated a few steps to avoid being burned. Axel smirked. "What's wrong, Roxas? Can't handle the flames?!"

"Don't get cocky," Roxas muttered. He threw Oathkeeper at Axel, a move that he called Strike Raid. While Axel was preoccupied with dodging it, Roxas took the chance to attack. He jumped in the air. By the time Axel glanced up, Roxas had his keyblade ready to strike. Swiftly, Axel blocked with chakram. Number Thirteen jumped back to his starting position with both keyblades in his hands.

"I liked it better when you were on my side," Axel commented before throwing his burning chakram in a yo-yo-like fashion.

Roxas avoided the first one. However, the second grazed him on the shoulder. Yet it was enough to draw some blood. He ran toward Axel to even things out. He dodged the chakram that Axel threw again and rammed Axel in the stomach with the hilt, successfully knocking the wind out of the guy. Then Roxas whacked him on the side.

Axel felt searing pain and thought he got a really bad black-and-blue bruise. However, once his eyes glanced down, he saw that an area of his black cloak looked darker. "You did this with that dull thing?!"

"What? You need me to demonstrate on your head?"

"You know, you better not have any idea what your saying!"

"Is that a threat?!"

Naxala sighed. She was angry off that the two were squabbling more than fighting. They went back and forth with insults and threats. Her coal eyes glanced over to the Heartless. It was standing next to the fallen down armor and out of the way. She wondered if the Neoshadow knew that they were fighting over it. Her eyes shifted back to the two guys, who seemed to have gone back to fighting.

Axel slid toward Roxas, leaving a trail of fire behind him. Roxas stepped out of the way. The Flurry of Flames then threw a chakram and it hit Roxas' side. Roxas let out a groan as searing pain shot throughout his body. The fifteen-year-old retaliated with Strike Raid. On the way back to its owner, the keyblade hit Axel in the back. He fell down from the blow. As he tried to get up, Number Thirteen moved in.

Roxas stopped in front of Number Eight and lifted up his keyblade. Before he could strike, Naxala came between the two Nobodies. "What are you doing?" Roxas asked.

Naxala didn't know why herself. It was strange. It was like an impulse had taken her over at the last second. As much as she despised Axel, she didn't want him to get hurt. Behind, shuffling sounds were made as the Flurry of Flames stood up. She can see Roxas staring at her and sensed Axel boring a hole through the back of her head. She gulped. "You can't destroy Axel. That's not our goal."

"What are you talking about? He's a traitor."

"Even so . . ." Naxala stopped there, not sure what to say next.

Roxas stared at her, trying to see what was wrong. He looked into her eyes and noticed the confused look in them. One keyblade disappeared, giving Roxas a free hand. Suddenly, he reached out and caressed her cheek, leaning closer to the girl. "I think I know what's wrong. Let me fix." Without warning, he threw the keyblade at the Heartless.

The Heartless saw the keyblade coming but its reaction time was slow. In a last ditch effort, Axel threw his chakram to hit the weapon. However, he was too late. The keyblade struck the Neoshadow and Alana's heart was finally released.

* * *

Xemnas was standing outside the gates of the haunted mansion. With him were Saix and Xaldin. Their eyes were on the mansion. Through the windows of the foyer, there was a flash of light, then darkness, and then everything went back to normal. Xemnas smirked. "I can already sense the power of Kingdom Hearts."

Saix smirked. "That must mean Roxas succeeded."

"So Kingdom Hearts is already around the corner," Xaldin said. "After all this time, it seems unbelievable."

* * *

Axel opened his emerald eyes and found himself in a vast void of darkness. However, he could still see Roxas and Naxala lying on the ground as plain as day. He stood up and looked around. He saw nothing but a portal that led to the foyer. There were some groans and Axel saw his other two 'comrades' getting up. "Where are we?" Axel asked Roxas.

The Key of Destiny rubbed the side of his head, thinking he must have banged it somehow. "How the hell am I suppose to know?"

"We're inside Kingdom Hearts," Naxala whispered but her voice managed to reach the boys' ears. She glanced at Axel. "What are you going to do now? There's no chance of getting Alana back. Her heart is gone."

Axel grinned. "I'll guess I'll kill you. There's no point of having you around if I can't get her back."

"How about we just kill you instead?" Roxas suggested.

"Didn't you try that already?" Axel chided. He was about to add on when he saw someone in an Organization cloak walking toward them. The hood was keeping the person's face hidden. Axel's chakram appeared in his hands. "Who are you?" The person didn't say a word. "Answer me!" He demanded. If there was anyone to blame for this, it was the Organization.

" . . . You forgot about me?" The person asked.

"You're not suppose to be here!" Naxala suddenly exclaimed. "You're suppose to be gone!"

Axel glanced at Naxala before looking back at the cloaked person. The person was gone. He looked around anxiously. By the time his eyes came back to check in front, she was standing there. Slightly hesitating, he removed the hood and gazed into slate eyes, her eyes. "Alana . . . ?" He couldn't help but smile. "So how long has it been?"

"Don't know. Tell me, Axel."

"About a week," he said. He hadn't seen her or heard her voice for a week. However, it seemed like their last night in Sunsetville had been months ago, possibly even years. Axel couldn't help but look at her. He wanted to embrace the girl but thought that would be too much. So, he took her hand in his. Suddenly, Alana hugged him and he was taken back by her action. When he was about to hug her, she quickly pulled away from him.

"I'm glad to see you," Alana said as an attempt to explain her behavior. Axel didn't say anything but pulled her back into an embrace. Her eyes closed as she forgot about their surrounding or the people that they were with. However, they snapped opened at the sound of foot patter. She shoved Axel away and her weapon appeared in her hand. She blocked Naxala's attack.

"You," Naxala said through clenched teeth. "You threaten my existence."

Alana pushed her away. "I want my other half," she said in a voice that would have frozen all hell over.

**A/N: Heh. So Alana's back already. But Kingdom Hearts is opened. So, right now, I guess it's win-win for both sides. To be honest, I was planning on posting this chapter before I go. I thought it would be after. Oh well. At least all you need to read is the final chapter and maybe an epilogue. Wow, I can't believe this story is almost over. Till three weeks later.**


	16. Chapter 16: Alana's Choice

**A/N: The final chapter, people. After three long weeks, the story comes to an end now. So what will happen? **

**ABILITY TO LOVE**

**CHAPTER 16**

**:Alana's Choice:**

"What?" Naxala jumped back, her weapon gone now. As she did so, her coal eyes remained on the girl in front of her. The Nobody had forgotten all about Roxas and Axel. Alana was the only one who mattered.

"I want my other half back," Alana stated, allowing her weapon to disappear. She felt there was no need for it at the moment.

Naxala's clenched her fists, hatred written on her face. "Why?" She asked through gritted teeth. "You're existing fine without me."

Alana didn't say anything, not willing to elaborate. Her eyes traveled to Roxas, who glared at her. Then she glanced at Axel, who looked confused. Finally, after coming up with a response, she looked back at Naxala. "You're not suppose to exist."

Naxala smirked. "Neither should Axel."

Immediately, Alana charged at Naxala to punch her in the face. However, the Nobody evaded her with ease. Alana quickly got behind Naxala and kicked the girl in the back. Naxala stumbled forward before she regained her balance. When she saw that Roxas had stirred from his spot, she yelled, "Don't interfere!"

Naxala faced her opponent and made her weapon appeared. It was still the same design but its color had changed. Now it was as black as the darkness Alana had once been in. The Nobody thought nothing of it. She just needed the weapon to get rid of her other half.

On the other hand, Alana thought that it was weird and that it made no sense. When hers appeared, it had turned as white as the new fallen snow. Her slate eyes glanced over the weapon to see if there had been any significant changes. By the time Alana had finished examining it, her Nobody was already moving.

Naxala swung the staff and Alana quickly deflected the blow.

Axel watched as the two jumped after one another and attacked. Now he knew what Dimitri had been talking about when he told Naxala that she fought "just like her". Their styles were similar, clearly defined by each strike and swing, each fluid movement and evasion. He was worried about Naxala's little trick that she had pulled on Dimitri. It was the only thing Alana couldn't do. Or at least, didn't know about. With that thought, he watched Naxala.

"Take this!" Naxala yelled as she threw her weapon at Alana.

Alana defended herself, knocking the staff to the ground with her own. Her eyes then caught movement and she glanced down. She saw Naxala crouched below her. Before she could do anything, Naxala kicked the black staff out of Alana's hands. Then Naxala swiftly elbowed Alana in the stomach and kicked her in the side, sending the girl flying.

Alana skidded on the ground until she came to a stop. Her body didn't bother getting up; her eyes peered over her heaving chest at the Nobody. Her eyes opened wide when Naxala's hand started glowing. _That attack. I can't avoid it. _All she could do was watch the Nobody prepare for the final blow.

Naxala ran and leaped into the air. As she came back down to grab the girl's heart, Axel ran in front and her hand went through his chest.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames grinned as he grabbed Naxala's arm. He then looked back at Alana. "I'm okay," he reassured her. "I don't have a heart to get crushed." His emerald eyes returned to Naxala. "What to do with you?"

Seeing that Axel had jumped in, Roxas took out his Oblivion keyblade. Then, without a second thought, he threw it at Axel.

Axel saw the keyblade coming and threw Naxala in front. Before she could get away, the keyblade struck her. She flew backward and hit the ground, where she laid paralyzed.

Roxas stood there, stunned by what had just happened. He looked at Naxala's on the ground and then at Axel. "You!" He ran toward the redhead but Alana came in front of him. She punched him in the stomach and he bent over. Then her hand came crashing down on his neck a moment afterward. Number Thirteen fell down to the ground unconscious.

"Sorry, Roxas," Alana apologized. Her attention switched to Naxala, who was laying on the ground. Alana walked over.

Naxala heard footsteps and glanced up, seeing her other half towering over her. "You're lucky," she said through clenched teeth. "If no one had interfered, I would have won." She looked away and stared at Roxas. She could feel her eyelids getting heavy, as if she wanted to sleep. However, she refused to. She wanted to be awake till the end. A sigh escaped her lips. "Roxas . . . you poor kid."

Alana watched as Naxala broke down into small pieces. Those pieces flew around before joining her own body. She didn't notice the staffs joining together to form her old blue one. After a minute, when the process was completed, she stood up. Alana now felt whole again and it was great. She looked back at Axel before approaching him. Her slate eyes stared at his side where Roxas's keyblade had struck before. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just glad that you're back. Now we can escape together."

"What?"

"We have to leave before Xemnas gets here. Then we----"

"Axel---"

"Can move to a different world," the redhead continued. "We can rent a place to stay, get jobs, just like last time---"

"Axel---"

"Only this time with better protection and----"

"Axel!" Alana hated yelling. It wasn't something she liked doing and she wasn't use to it. But it seemed to be the only way to get his attention.

The redhead stopped talking and looked at her. "What is it?"

"I---" Before she could say anything, someone interrupted her.

"Hello, maiden."

Alana looked and saw Xemnas coming toward them, Xaldin and Saix right behind. Soon the three Organization members stopped a yard away. Sensing some sort of danger, Alana moved closer to Axel. Axel noticed this but did not look at her. His eyes remained on the three intruders.

Xemnas looked around, seeing nothing but vast darkness. His golden eyes rested on the girl. "So this is Kingdom Hearts. Tell me, maiden, why is it filled with only darkness? And where is the power that we seek?"

"Is that what you see? Darkness?" Alana saw the funny look Axel gave her and she understood that he saw the same thing as well.

"What do you see?" Xemnas asked her.

". . . Chains." Except Saix who remained impassive, they all looked at her as if she was psychotic. This didn't bother her as she stood there, deciding to elaborate. "They're protecting the inner most depths of Kingdom Hearts. And therefore, you'll never access the power you seek."

Xemnas stared at her before his face contorted with anger. "I will become stronger! There are other ways of getting what I want!" Suddenly, he lashed out at the girl with his sabers. Alana took a step back, avoiding the blow.

Alana then took hold of Axel, startling the redhead. It was a death grip. "Then figure it out," she said. Before Xemnas could grab her, she disappeared with Number Eight.

* * *

Axel appeared in another part of Kingdom Hearts, the darkness still surrounding them. He looked at Alana when she released his arm and started to walk away. "Alana," he said, catching her attention. "Do you really see chains?"

She gazed at him, the look in her eyes intense. "They're for me."

"Huh?"

"I'm suppose to go be chained in the depths of Kingdom Hearts as an eternal guardian."

"You're kidding me." He wished she wasn't serious but he couldn't recall a time where she had made a joke. "I thought that you would come with me."

"Axel, I'm not going to stay here."

Axel stared at her, not understanding why she looked sad and upset simultaneously. He walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "So why do you have that look on your face?"

Alana couldn't bear to look Axel in the eyes. So she stared at ground. "I found yours and Demyx's heart here."

"Okay," he said, knowing she changed the topic. "Where are they?"

"I crushed them." After summoning some courage, she finally glanced up and saw the shock look on Axel's face. Quickly, she explained. "You see, when me, or Naxala, crushes a heart, it gives it a chance to be reincarnated. These hearts around us, they'll be here a long time. That's why I crushed yours and Demyx's so they can be free. Even if I didn't, I couldn't fuse them with you two. They have to be in Heartless form for that trick to work."

"You're making no sense. Can you spell this out for me?"

Alana suddenly looked agitated and pulled away from Axel. Then she turned her back on him, trying to think of a way of phrasing it. "I can't let Xemnas take Kingdom Hearts over. The moment I step outside, the chains will be gone, leaving Kingdom Hearts open and vulnerable to whoever. But . . ." She looked at her hand, which started to glow a faint hue. "But if I crush my heart----"

"What?!" After trying his best to protect her, rescue her, and finally getting her back, he had to lose her again, this time for good. He clenched his fists. "Why the hell would you want to do that for?!"

"Because," she said in an icy tone, "it's the only way to force everyone out and seal Kingdom Hearts. And the only way I could be free of this duty."

There was a silence between them for a while as they tried to sort out their feelings and thoughts. Then Alana spoke.

"Don't you trust me Axel?"

". . . I do."

"Then believe me when I say we'll meet again."

". . . How is that possible?"

For the first time in ten minutes, Alana looked at him. "We'll meet in another life and I'll have a feeling we'll know when we see each other again." As much as she wanted to, she didn't tear her eyes away from him. She bit her lips before saying, "This is goodbye Axel."

Her hand glowed brighter and she grabbed her heart. When Alana was about to crush it, Axel grabbed her toward him and kissed her one last time. _Axel, _she thought. She released her heart in order to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him deeper into the gratifying kiss. _Why do you have to make this so difficult?_

_

* * *

_

A week later . . .

"Castle Oblivion?" Zexion questioned within the confinements of his library. He was putting a few books away as he talked to the Savage Nymph. So he didn't bother looking at her.

"We're all going there," Larxene explained. "Well, several of us including Marluxia and Axel. Even Vexen is willing to go."

Zexion didn't answer right away. He was determining if leaving this castle just to go to a different one was a good idea. Then he eyed the female member next to him. "What's the purpose of this?"

Larxene smirked. "It's technically a trap for the keyblade wielder. Xemnas said that with his powers, we can make Kingdom Hearts complete. According to him, that's the only option left."

"We have Roxas," Zexion stated simply.

"Well, two keyblade wielders are better than one."

Roxas found Axel sitting on the Altar of Naught. He had a feeling his friend would have been there; the redhead had been going there the last few days. He approached Axel and sat down beside him. "So," he said, thinking of what to say first, "did the black and blue mark on your back go away yet?"

When Alana had crushed her heart, everyone was kicked out. Axel, instead of returning to the foyer, had fallen into the dining room and landed on the table. It had snapped in two, giving him a large bruise on his back. When Axel had nodded, Roxas thought about a new topic.

"Um, do you . . . how are you doing?"

"Fine. Most of the wounds have healed----"

"I mean without her." Roxas believed he shouldn't say the name unless Axel said it himself. It was only then he would know it was okay to say it. Suddenly, he wondered if they could even talk about her or if it had became a taboo. Just yesterday, Xigbar and Xaldin had been talking about her. Until Axel came by. They had stopped immediately. With that thought, he looked at Number Eight.

"Oh, that." Axel sighed. "I'm okay."

"You think about her?"

"Honestly, I tried not to the first couple of days. It didn't work." His emerald eyes stared at the incomplete, heart-shaped moon in the sky. He got sick of seeing it up there. However, he had to stare at it. It was a reminder of his last few moments with Alana. Axel closed his eyes and said, "She told me that she loved me. Wonder for how long."

Axel sighed again. He thought about all the insults she had flung at him from the time she had arrived. Then he remembered all the kisses he had stolen from her. The first one she hadn't attacked him for was when they had been planning the escape. Then there was the night in Sunsetville where she was willing to make love.

Number Eight stood up and finally, he looked at the Key of Destiny.

"Hey, Roxas, do you believe in another life?"

Roxas gave him a funny look. "I guess so. Why?"

Axel grinned and headed back inside. Roxas chased after him. _Then it's something to look forward to,_ the Flurry of Dancing Flames thought to himself._ Alana._

**A/N:** **Ha ha! It's over. The end. I worked on this chapter on the trip. However, the one I wrote back then was sort of crappy. Actually, it was crappy. It didn't flow as well as this one did. I don't know if anyone was hoping they (Axel and Alana) would be together. But if you were, sorry. But they will, hopefully, in different lives. Maybe I'll write a one-shot on it :) Who knows. Okay, the staffs changing colors. I suppose it's symbolic of something the realms they could cross (light and darkness). And how did Alana know all that stuff in the end? Simply because she returned to Kingdom Hearts and her "memories" returned. Sorry I didn't do a great job explaining it in the chapter. The next chapter is called "The Letter". It's about the one from Chapter 14, written by Dimitri, sent to DiZ? So if you're interested, go ahead and read it. Anyway, thanks to SilverGhostKitsune and Ayrtha21keybladewielder for reviewing last chapter. Also, thanks to those who added this story (or me) to their favorites or alerts. And thanks to those who have reviewed in the past. I think this will be the last fanfic I'll work on for the summer (excluding the possible oneshot). Too much homework to do. Well, till whenever.**


	17. Chapter 17: The Letter

**CHAPTER 17**

**:The Letter:**

_Dear DiZ,_

_If this letter is shorter than my usual ones, it is because I ran out of time. I believe today is the day that I'll die. I realized too late that the information I have uncovered in the past about the Maidens of Kingdom Hearts leaked into the hands of a new enemy: the Order. They will come here for one. She is my apprentice Alana. She is here with me or at least, half of her._

_They captured her and for weeks I have waited for her return. However, she returned to me as a Heartless. I never had remorse for creatures of the kind but because I saw my student, I spare its life._

_I know that the Order will come soon to retrieve her. I don't fully understand their actions or how she became like this, but I'm certain they want Kingdom Hearts for their own personal gains. As you know, the heart is not a simple thing that can be understood perfectly to every extent. I fear that this group of Nobodies will tamper with it to the point of catastrophe. _

_With the research they stole from you, they are more threatening than the Heartless. They are creatures that can plan, think._

_If you're interested, old friend, you may use my mansion. There is a lab hidden under the floor of the library. With your caliber, I'm certain you will find the entrance. You can use it as a base for your research on the Nobodies; a lot has been appearing in Twilight Town recently._

_I see two cloak figures outside, heading for the door. I must leave._

_Sincerely,_

_Dimitri _


End file.
